A Father's Love
by Bella Skywalker
Summary: "Usually when someone says 'Calm down' to a deranged, freaking-out, expecting father, it will not, I repeat not, help him calm down." Hiccup deals with his newest challenges in life: raising his oldest daughter, Kari. (Contains spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon 2, currently on hiatus).
1. Perfection

**_Hello, HTTYD fandom! My name is Bella Skywalker, and this is my first Dragons fanfic. Now, it's pretty short, but I just got this idea in my head two days ago and I couldn't get it out of my mind! I have been reading some HTTYD fanfics lately, and I have to say... you guys have got to be some of the best authors on this site. They way you kept the characters...well... in character, is amazing. So your stories inspired me to write this one-shot, and I am so happy with it!_**

**_There are spoilers from HTTYD2, so PLEASE DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU LIKE READING SPOILERS! (Knowing myself, I hate spoilers, so this is why I am addressing the fact to those who are on the same boat as I am)._**

**_As you can tell... I am a huge fan of Hiccstrid, and I love everything about them separately. I tired my hardest to get in character with them (Hiccup is the queen of sass while Astrid is just AWESOME XD), but if they seem out of character to you, or if anything is off, please leave a review or message me, so I can improve._**

**_Also, for a side note, this is set a couple of years after the second movie, and Hiccup and Astrid are married, with Hiccup as Chief._**

**_I do not own anything related to "How to Train Your Dragon". The movie franchise is owned by the amazing Dreamworks._**

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_"A man is not complete until he has seen the baby he has made."_

Sammy Davis, Jr.

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**Perfection**

"Just calm down, Hiccup."

Usually when someone says "Calm down" to a deranged, freaking-out, expecting father, it will not, I repeat not, help him calm down. All it will do is add stress to said expecting father, causing him to freak out more and worry about his wife and baby.

Quite frankly, anything could happen to both baby and mother during birth, as in broken limbs, death, other complications, or anything really, and it doesn't help that the entire island is expecting a boy to carry the family legacy and not if the baby (boy or girl) will be healthy.

Like, seriously, who votes on baby genders? The baby will come out a gender and the vote will have no impact on it whatsoever. And why would someone bid ten buckets of fish against their neighbor just to prove they predicted the gender correctly? It's not like there is a 50/50 chance the baby would be a boy or girl. Like, what were they expecting? A dragon?

(Come to think of it, now it implies the mother was cheating on the father with a dragon... Awkward).

And unfortunately, I was feeling exactly this. (The whole pressure and worry thing, I mean).

I have led our proud people of Berk out of two wars. I integrated dragons and Berkians, whom live in peace and harmony. I invented dragon-riding (well... technically Mom did, but everyone on Berk thought _I_ did, so TAKE _THAT_, MOM!). I am the chief of Berk. I can freaking glide because how well I work with blacksmith and gadgets.

Yet the birth of a baby freaks me out.

But it wasn't just any baby.

It was _my_ baby.

_Our_ baby.

I worried what would happen to Astrid (obviously, I married her). She and I have been through so much, and childbirth could take her away (and the Gods... especially the gods). I don't want to lose the first girl, first Viking, who saw how amazing dragons were, like I did. Astrid was my everything.

And now, so will this baby.

"No offense, Snotlout, but you telling me to calm down has no impact on helping me calm down," I replied.

"Well, can you at least stop pacing? You look like you need to go to the outhouse."

I stopped walking. I just realized my palms were sweating from clenched in fists, and suddenly ached, and my face was equally sweaty. Also my legs were cramping from the pacing. My peg leg, especially (which is a friendly reminder that dragons like to even odds out as well as humans).

I ran a hand through my hair, which got caught on the braids Astrid insisted on making. "Look, I'm not trying to be paranoid, but you wouldn't understand, Snotlout."

The once-bully of my childhood, who was now a foot shorter than me, shrugged. "Hey, I get it, Hic. You're worried about Astrid and the kid." He looked away. "You're...already a better father than most fathers."

I smiled. "Did the Great Snotlout compliment me?" I asked in mock-surprise. Snotlout was always competing with me (although he always one), and to hear him say something like this to me was quite strange.

Snotlout lightly punched my arm. "Don't get used to it. I'm still the best at Thawfest." _Thanks for_ _reminding me_, I thought, sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say."

We were soon joined by Ruffnut, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Eret, son of Eret. The adult Vikings looked exhausted, as though they ran a mile (which is weird, because we don't have a mile on Berk and we use dragons for even short distances). Well, Eret didn't look too out of breath. He wasn't acustomed to dragon-riding as long as the others have (although he had bonded well with my Dad's dragon, Scullcrusher).

"You look awful," Snotlout blurted. _Always the subtle one, he is._

Fishlegs tried to catch his breath. "I... was... just...-" he wheezed,"-at... the...mid-"

"We were at the midwife hut and we heard Astrid swearing more than someone after drinking her yak-nog on Snoggletoff," Ruffnut said, in a fast tone.

Snotlout frowned. "Why would Astrid curse more than usual?" he asked.

_Seriously, is he _that_ clueless?_

"Unless this whole 'childbirth' thing is too hard for Astrid," Tuffnut baffled, causing him and Snotlout to laugh harder.

Ruffnut punched Snotlout and Tuffnut in the shoulder. "You idiots obviously don't know how painful childbirth is." She shuttered. "It's the most painful feeling in the world."

Fishlegs finally caught his breath. "How would you know? You never gave birth before." _A very valid point by the nerdiest Viking on Berk._

"When you have the parts, you feel the pain for your fellow woman," Ruffnut explained.

The guys and I cringed.

"Yea... that's sort of gross," I muttered. Sdudenly a thought occurred to me. "Wait, is she almost done?" I asked.

Ruffnut shrugged. "I don't know. The midwives won't let us in."

I didn't think over my actions before I realized I was running toward the midwife hut. As I got closer, the swears of my wife become louder and louder. There were also other Vikings waiting outside the hut, waiting impatiently.

One guy recognized me and yelled, "Cheif! She's getting close!"

I was soon joined by Stormfly and Toothless. Stormfly was looking paler than usual and she constantly scratched the ground. I could only assume she worried about Astrid and she couldn't be there for her. _I know how you feel, girl._

I patted Stormfly's muzzle first. "She's okay, girl. She's okay." The Deadly Nadder hummed in response and her breathing became steady.

Toothless nuzzled his head under my arm and looked up at me with anticipation, and his pupils went large, indicating sadness. I don't know why, but dragons are very intuitive with human pain. I am glad toothless can read my emotions, although he may not truly understand them, since I couldn't explain to a dragon why I was so nervous.

I continued to soothe the dragons, although it was hard, since Astrid's cursing was evident of pain. If I could be there to help, I would, but men cannot be in the building while a woman is in labor. It's stupid, I know, but it makes sense: I couldn't coach Astrid. I wouldn't have a clue on what to do.

An older woman walked up to me and hugged my shoulder. Mom.

"Your father was nervous, too, you know."

I didn't look at her. "I'm surprised you're not in there with Astrid and her mom." Usually, when there is a birth, the mother of the birthing woman would be there for coaching and support. Sometimes, the father's mother would be there as well. I surprised myself. Valka and Astrid bonded well over the past couple of years, due to them co-leading the Dragon Academy, while I was Chief and doing important Chief-like things.

Valka grinned. "Nah, I had my chance. Besides, the father needs support as well, does he not?"

I smiled. I'm glad Mom was here to support me.

However, I had a nagging thought I had to clear with her. "Was Dad with his father, when I was born?" I asked, my voice cracking. Speaking about my father, StoicK the Vast, was still painful, even years after his... passing. But the fact that he was as scared as I was... it made me feel closer to him than I could ever truly be. I mean, sure he went out of his dragon-killing lifestyle in order to accommodate Berk's new dragon-riding lifestyle, but I feel he wasn't connected as Mom and I are with dragon-riding.

It's good to hear Dad and I have something in common. Keeps him close, y'know.

Valka shook her head. "Your grandfather died in a storm, just a few months before you were born, and he didn't have his mum either." My grandfather. I don't know much about him, only that the only portrait he ever took with my Dad was the one hanging in the Great Hall. If he was anything like my father, I probably wouldn't have bonded well with him.

I already know her answer. "So he really _was_ alone..."

"And when you were born, he didn't care that you were frail or tiny. In his eyes, you were perfect, because you were _our_ baby." Valka smiled. "He was the proudest father on Berk, ready to boast about you. The first time you rolled over, he showed you off to the entire village."

I chuckled. I guess that was pretty funny, although I doubt _I_ would boast about my baby rolling over. I tried to imagine Dad, being his big oafish self, showing me (remember, I was a runty thing) off in pride.

Then again, it would be pretty funny if I did that to the baby.

My thoughts were interrupted by the gasps of the villagers around me. I listened carefully, to make sure I wasn't mistaking anything. Strangely, it was quiet. There were no midwives yelling nor Astrid cursing. Utter silence.

The next second was a blur. I found myself inside the midwife house, with the door slamming behind me, blocking out the protests of the villagers and my mother. There were women scurrying around a bed, where Astrid was bent forward and looking up at me, tears in her eyes. A couple of the midwifes were yelling at me, but I couldn't understand what they were saying.

The first sound I heard was a tiny wail.

A midwife, who was at the end of the bed, looked back to me. She was cuddling something in her beefy arm which I couldn't see because her shoulder was in the way. She smiled.

"Healthy babe, Chief."

I sighed in relief, and walked over to Astrid. The midwife walked over to the other midwives and began to wash off the baby. The wails escalated, filling the room. For a moment, I felt I should check to make sure everything was okay, but I have learned from the past to not interfere with woman who know how to take care of newborns.

Astrid collapsed in the pillow supporting her. I pushed a strand of hair from her wet face to behind her ear. Her face was red and tears were running down her face. She looked extremely exhausted. And she was beautiful.

"You did great, Milady."

Astrid huffed. "I'd punch you if I had the strength."

Good ole Astrid. I could always count on her to punch my shoulder.

The midwife held up a swindled cloth to us. "Wold you like to hold your daughter?"

_Daughter?_

Astrid pointed weakly to me. "Let Hiccup hold her first."

Before I knew it, I was holding the bundle. I looked down, utterly frightened on what to do. Was I supporting the head okay? Was the baby comfy? So many questions were circling my head.

And then I saw her, face to face, for the first time.

She was red, which was expected. And tiny. She looked so fragile, I thought she would break if I tightened my grip. Her eyes weren't open yet, but I expected them to be blue; newborns have blue eyes. I suspected they would either stay blue, like Astrid's, or grow green, as mine did. Her hair... wow... she sprouted a ton of hair for a newborn. I couldn't help but touch her hair gently (Very gently, mind you. She was delicate). It was so soft, like fur.

Looking closely, I realized she resembled Astrid. She had her nose, her rounded face and her smooth chin. The dimples on her cheeks were adorable, again belonging to Astrid. I was sort of glad; now I had two beautiful ladies, who were identical, in my life.

As I watched her precious face, her eyes began to slowly open.

I couldn't help but let my jaw drop. Her eyes, strangely, were as green as mine. This was very uncommon for newborns, but not all newborns are the same, right? I mean, my mother and I were definitely born differently than the other Vikings.

And I realized my daughter and I were seeing each other, eye to eye, for the first time. It was an amazing feeling. She had this... gleam in her eyes, when she stared back at me with my eyes. It was though she was studying me, despite being merely a few minutes old.

Already, I felt this overprotective feeling for her. She was my little girl. She'll need her daddy to protect her, since I'll be the first man she'll ever love. She'll need her daddy when she walks for the first time, and scrapes her knee. And I will be there to catch her if she falls, and I will kiss her sores goodbye and chase her nightmares away. I will teach her how to ride dragons and be there when she finds her own.

Right now, she was a tiny soul who needed us. Parents to take care of her, feed her, wash her, protect her and love her. Astrid and I probably wouldn't know the first thing to do, but we will manage. We will be the best parents we can for our daughter.

She was perfect. I could only say she was perfect. Nothing else mattered. Well, sure, health mattered, but at this moment, right now, nothing else mattered. This... perfect little girl... was the product of Astrid and I. _We_ made her. She belonged to _us_.

She was _our_ baby.

Astrid chuckled. "You okay there, Chief?"

"W-what?"

Astrid laughed a bit louder. "Well, you look like you just saw an angel or something."

The stupid grin on my face wouldn't go away. "I think I did." To emphasize my point, I shift our daughter, so she was resting in her mother's arms, while my arm went around Astrid's shoulders. I watched as mother and daughter saw each other for the first time, green eyes to blue.

"She's beautiful, Hiccup," Astrid breathed.

I felt so proud at the moment. Not just for Astrid, because she did amazing bringing this amazing child into the world, but because for our daughter, who was doing pretty well for her first few minutes of life. She was content, I think. She wasn't balling for food and she seemed happy with human contact. Pretty good for a newborn.

I was a father, I realized...Astrid and I were parents... We have our own daughter.

I ran my hand through her soft, red hair again. "She'll be like you, no doubt," I joked. "Loud, tough, pig-headed..."

Astrid snorted. "Or she'll be a sarcastic, know-it-all like her father." She shuttered. "Ugh. Never mind, I can't handle two Hiccups."

I laughed. "We can call her Hiccup, then."

Astrid's eyes widened. "Oh gods no. The last thing we need are two Haddocks with the same name, causing mayhem on Berk." She watched our daughter yawn. Oh gods, it was adorable. Her fists went tight and she stretched her little arms. The best part? Hearing the air leave her mouth.

"Maybe Ingrid?" Astrid suggested.

I thought for a moment. "Doesn't 'Ingrid' sound close to Astrid?" I realized, nudging her shoulder with my arm.

She rolled her eyes. "Well, Mister Chief, what do you want to call her?"

I shrugged. It just occurred to me Astrid and I did not discuss girl names. Well, the names Rowan and Ingrid turned up, but that was all.

"Why not Kari Rowan?" I suggested. I knew Kari meant "gust of wind", and if our daughter would be anything like us, then it would be a pretty accurate name. Rowan meant "little red", which also fit because her hair was a dark red, like Dad.

"Kari Rowan Haddock?" Astrid tried out. "Yea... Kari."

"Kari... It's perfect," I agreed, watching Kari's eyes slowly close, falling asleep.

"_She's_ perfect," Astrid added, as she held Kari's small fist in her soft hands.

I smiled and looked down at Kari. _Perfection_.

She was perfect, because she was _our_ baby.

**To be continued...**


	2. She Took After Me

_**Oh. My. Gods.**_

_**So I wake up on the morning of July 17 , not seven hours after I posted the story, and I find my inbox FULL! Four reviews, six favorites, three followers and 239 views under 7 hours?**_

_**(I'm going to quote Hiccup) "THIS IS AMAZING!"**_

_**Seriously, guy! This feedback makes me so happy! I literally feel like flying on a dragon (if only...): I'm up in the clouds, happier than anything! Thank you all so much for this, I'm so happy!**_

_**I'll let you guys in on a little secret: I was planning to make more stories about Hiccup and Astrid bonding with Kari, mostly on Hiccup and Kari. I was intentionally leaving this as a one-shot because I didn't know how well it would do, and leave it at that. Well, you guys proved me wrong. It did awesome.**_

_**So, rest be assured, I will continue this into more one-shot chapters.**_

_**Thank you all so much again for the feedback. **__**I love you guys :D**_

_**Bella :)**_

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_"Fathers, like mothers, are not born. Men grow into fathers and fathering is a very important stage in their development."_

David Gottesman

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**She Took After Me**

Okay... I'm not freaking out... I'm not freaking out... I am _not_ freaking out!

Fine. I _am_ freaking out.

Why must a baby be attached to an object which serves no purpose? I mean, couldn't a baby be attached to a bottle or a blanket? Those serve very useful purposes. You're hungry? Here, have a bottle of sheep milk. Cold? Look, we've got lots of wool blankets.

No. My daughter was attached to a toy dragon.

And it's missing.

And she's freaking out.

And I'm the only one watching her.

Great.

I searched quickly as the wails of my four-month old daughter echoed throughout the house (and possibly Berk). Every furniture was out of place and literally everywhere, thanks to my frantic searching. It was a huge mess and it was driving my claustrophobic brain crazy. Well... it was good that Astrid wasn't here; she'd throw me into a barrel and have Stormfly drop me in the ocean (and restrain Toothless from trying to find me).

I didn't think trying to find her stuffed dragon would be difficult, since, hey, four-month old baby. They don't do much, except lie on their back, eat, cry and regurgitate other bodily fluids. Kari was no exception, even though she was the Chief's daughter. Why I would think otherwise? Well, I wasn't exactly normal for a baby, according to Dad. Maybe this "baby weirdness" passed down to her? Well, it definitely did not.

Toothless huddled in a corner with his paws over his ears. He kept humming sadly, probably not understanding why Kari was crying. I can relate, I guess. Usually, her toy, which we dubbed "Beanie" (don't ask how), would sit on the little table beside her cradle. Or in her cradle. Or dresser. And Beanie would always make her happy (well, that, and food, but Astrid needed a break from the house for a few hours, and she fed Kari before she left).

"Toothless, you wouldn't have happened to have seen Beanie, would you?" I asked the Night Fury. I knew I was crazy, asking my dragon where my baby daughter's prize possession was. Hey, it doesn't hurt to try, right? And I was running out of options and patience.

The Night Fury tilted his head to the right, looking confused.

"Thanks for the help," I replied, deadpanned.

I heard another wail. Yep, Kari's screams were definitely getting on my nerves.

I know I should ask my mother for help, which she has in the past, to not disturb Astrid from her time away, but I needed to do this. I needed some time with Kari, since I've been busy being chief since her birth. I had to prove that I could take care of a four-month old baby by myself. I needed to prove I could be a dad.

Sighing, I walked up the stairs to her room, where the wails grew louder (along with a headache forming in my head). I pushed the bedroom door open and walked over to the cradle. Kari had grown a little bit bigger since her birth. Her cheeks were rounder and her hair was a slightly lighter red (but still pretty dark) from birth. It was probably an inch long and much thicker. She was wrapped in sheep fur and was pumping her fists uncontrollably in rhythm of her cries.

"Shhh... Kari, don't cry. Daddy's here," I tried to sooth. I picked her up gently and rested her in my arms, her head resting on my right arm. Her wails were calming down, slowly. I decided to bounce my arm lightly and walk a little. Hopefully a little movement would calm her down. It worked quite a lot when she was born, when she was up in the night, screaming.

As I rocked her gently, and succeeded in calming her down, I found myself thinking about her stuffed animal. I didn't really know why she needed it, if she was content with me rocking her. And I don't know why I was freaking out, trying to find the darn thing. I don't know. Maybe it related to my doubts of being a good father, which I have been getting lately.

Not long after Kari was born (maybe two months), we had gotten newcomers to the island (from a neighboring Viking village). Their land was being overrun by forest fires, probably due to the heat their island had been experiencing, and they turned to us for shelter and rescue. And guess who was in charge of the entire operation?

Yep, you guessed it.

So, I had been busy for the past two months trying to shelter twenty more Vikings. Which is difficult, since Berk is a small island. Not only that, I had to organize Vikings to take some of their water-breathing dragons to fix the problem, and had some expeditions planned to scope the islands. You know, the newer ones on my map, to see if the islands would serve as good, stable homes for them. And it had been very stressful.

"_Hic_!"

I looked down at Kari and found something gross. All. Over. Me.

Spit-up.

_That's gonna be hard to wash out,_ I thought, bitterly.

"You remind me of Toothless more and more, you know that?" I asked Kari, fully aware she couldn't possibly answer back. I grabbed a rag from the bedside table and wiped most of it off Kari first, who somehow was not bothered having regurgitated breast milk all over herself (as for myself, I was bothered).

Kari suddenly made a face. Oh no. I knew that face.

She opened her mouth and wailed again.

I tried to rock her again. "Oh, c'mon, sweetheart. I just had you content," I sighed, as she continued to cry. Damnit, where in Thor's name was Beanie?

Walking around seemed like a good idea, and it worked a few minutes ago, so I walked around her room as I rocked her slightly. Her cries were still loud, but they were, again, dimming a little. My headache was beating again. I bet all of Berk heard her now, her cries were so loud.

The door to her bedroom creaked open. I faced it, hoping to Odin it was Astrid back from her night out. However, I found myself facing a rather ugly creature with adorable big eyes. I laughed.

"Of all the times you need me, it's when my daughter needs me," I groaned, playfully. Toothless panted and came bolting towards me. Oh no, he thought I was playing!

I held my free hand out. "No, bud! I can't play right now!" I tried to stop him. Kari wailed louder, which made Toothless stop in his tracks. He lowered his head down, along with his entire body, and his eyes went big.

If Kari wasnt screaming at the top of her lungs at the moment, I would have coaxed Toothless better. "Bud, I'm sorry!" I shouted over her cries. "I need to get her to calm down!"

Toothless lifted his head. He stood up again and gently walked over to the far side of Kari's room, where a little dresser stood. He poked his head through the drawers, beginning to pull out clothes with his mouth. It sort of looked like he was looking for something.

I suddenly realized. "Maybe Beanie's in there," I whispered. Man, it helps to have an intelligent dragon for a best friend. I looked down to Kari in my arms. She was crying still, frisking her arms in the air,

"Daddy's gonna find Beanie for you," I told her. I walked back to her cradle and gently placed her in it. Her protests were obvious, and I tried my best to ignore them, even though they tugged at my heart. I walked over to the dresser and searched through it frantically, like I destroyed downstairs. After not even a minute, I had looked through all of the drawers, with little success, and I was freaking out.

Then, I heard Kari making a noise. A new noise.

I turned back to Kari's cradle, and gasped.

(She stopped crying, thank the Gods)

Toothless had left my side and walked over to Kari's cradle. He slowly nuzzled his head against Kari, and placed his paw gently on the blankets wrapped around her. She had the biggest smile on her face and was laughing at Toothless, who was also doing his own interpretation of laughing. He occasionally licked her face with his incredibly sticky saliva (which is incredibly disgusting, I may add).

Wait. Kari was _laughing_.

My face froze in a grin. My best friend was helping me. My baby daughter was laughing for the first time. At a dragon, I may add. It was beautiful and precious and every little thing pure in this world, despite the strange setting.

I was suddenly reminded what Mom told me. How I got the scar on the lower right side of my chin. I was bonding with Cloudjumper, which made her realize dragons were intelligent. Good, even.

Kari... had this strange connection with dragons as I did at her age.

She took after me.

And... for the past four months, I worried I wouldn't be able to connect with her. There was the physical part of being a Viking I couldn't teacher her (Astrid would have better luck in that department). However, there was the possibility she'd enjoy riding dragons (you know, like most of the Vikings on Berk), simply because she's being raised as such. She probably wouldn't have the same connection I have with dragons.

No. I was wrong. Kari had _the_ gift. _My_ gift.

My little girl, who was barely four months old, took after me.

I couldn't believe it.

I laughed, which caused the (apparently) present tears on my face to trickle down my cheeks to my slight beard. This moment was... almost as amazing as the moment Kari and I saw each other for the first time. It was beautiful. Amazing.

I walked over to Toothless and patted his head. "Thanks, bud." Toothless purred again, causing Kari to laugh hysterically again. I gently picked up Kari from her cradle again.

"You're like me, aren't you, kiddo?" I asked, smiling. Come to think of it, I quite enjoyed talking to her, even though she couldn't respond.

Kari merely smiled back, with her toothless grin, her green eyes locked to mine. Once again, I felt so proud of this little joy in my life. This... amazing little life.

I lifted one of my fingers to her fist. She saw my finger and slowly grasped it in her grip.

"Whoa, you've got quite the grip there," I cooed. I know it wasn't actually strong, but it was pretty tight. "You'll be strong like Mommy, won't you?"

Kari smiled again, which literally broke my heart. In the good way.

"Kari..." I somehow felt I needed to make a speech or something. "I'm not the best Viking. In fact, for the longest time, I was considered the worst Viking in the history of all of Berk." I chuckled. "I thought that myself, too. I thought I needed to kill dragons in order to fit in with everyone. Because I didn't like being different. I didn't like the way other Vikings thought I was this weak, helpless little guy, or the way everyone judged me. The worst part, I believed my own father thought I was as well."

It was hard to admit this about my dad, even to a baby. "But then I realized my differences made me... special. Made me unique. Sure, my own mother is a dragon fanatic, but even then... I'm not her. And I'm not Dad, either. Mom told me I have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon. And I believe her to this day."

Kari had begun to suckle on her thumb, her eyes wide in alert.

I continued,"But you, Kari Rowan Haddock, have this... gift, like I do, and my own mother does. You are different than other Viking babies. You have this amazing personality already. I can tell you are intuitive to your surroundings, and you're only four months old." I smoothed out her red hair gently. "I was always afraid of not ending up like my father. He was selfless, brave, compassionate..." Kari tightened her hold on my finger. A response, perhaps? "And... I don't know. Maybe I won't be like him as a dad. I'm still questioning myself. But I'm so glad you're like me, in this sense, that a dragon fascinates you at this age. It makes my job easier, a little."

She made a cooing sound and smiled. My heart melted. It was just too adorable.

"Just... promise me one thing." Kari cooed again. "I would love it if we were close. You know, when you're older and can understand me. I promise to protect you, to make sure you're safe. And I want to be the first boy... the first man... you can trust." I sighed. A tear was escaping my eye. "I know it sounds stupid to worry about you, but you'll always be my little girl, and I don't want you getting hurt by any boys." I chuckled. "If you're anything like your mom, you can take care of yourself quite easily."

Kari shook her little arms and laughed.

"Yea... you're definitely like your mom, aren't you, kiddo?" I chuckled. Smiling again, I did something I haven't done to my daughter in a long time: I brought her close to me and I kissed her cheek.

Wait... why does it taste slimy?

I brought her back down and saw the thick saliva. "Oh... That's gross, Toothless." I rubbed the saliva off Kari gently, then myself next. To my relief, she didn't cry. She did begin to fall asleep.

Slowly, I walked over to the chair beside the cradle and sat while she fell asleep. I didn't say anything else. I, and Kari, were content with sitting and rocking slowly. Minutes or hours passed, but I didn't care. I was happy just watching my daughter fall asleep. She was quiet, and didn't make a sound at all. Well, _that_ was a lie. She began to snore lightly when she was completely asleep (which was my cue to put her into bed). Gently, I shifted her in my arms and laid her in the cradle.

For a few minutes, I simply watched Kari sleep. The way her chest rose when she breathed, it was a miracle. I never paid attention to breathing until now, knowing each breath was a gift for a baby. And to a parent, knowing their child was breathing perfectly.

The beauty of the moment was disturbed, however, by a fiery storm.

"What in Thor's name-? Hiccup!"

_Oh sweet baby Odin._ Astrid was home and it was a mess downstairs. "Uhh... up here," I addressed, before I gulped. I might as well pick out my own barrel before I get tossed.

I heard footsteps come running up and the door opening. Astrid was at the bedroom door, looking worried, and out of breath. Wait, why was she back so early? It was dark out, yes, but she said she'd be back after the banquet was done, and the banquets sometimes lasted for hours.

I smiled nervously. "Hello, Milady."

Astrid's mouth dropped. "She's... not crying."

"I know, can you believe it?" I chuckled. Maybe I wasn't in trouble. "I thought her Beanie was the only thing that would help, but I couldn't find it so-"

Astrid laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry, babe." She held up a green toy that resembled a Night Fury in her hand. Beanie. "I remembered I left it at Mom's house. I had a training session and Mom had her for this afternoon."

I found my jaw dropped as well. "I searched for that thing for hours."

"Well, that explains the mess downstairs," Astrid chuckled. She suddenly looked guilty. "Oh... Hiccup, I am so sorry," she apologized, walking over to sit on my lap and hugged me.

I smiled, "Don't be. I think not having Beanie here was the best thing for Kari."

Astrid gave me a confused look. "She didn't cry for you?" she asked.

"Well, she did. A little," I admitted. Astrid began to braid my hair. "I put her back down after rocking her because I thought Beainie was in her dresser, and I turned back and Toothless was nuzzling her and she was laughing," I explained.

Astrid paused from her braiding. "She was laughing?" she repeated. The smile on her face grew.

"I know, it was hilarious. She was straight laughing at Toothless," I explained. Astrid and I laughed together.

I remembered something..."Astrid, Mom told me when I was a baby, the night she was taken away, I was bonding with Cloudjumper." I don't know why I never told Astrid this before. Maybe it never came up in conversations. "She's like me."

Astrid looked back at the cradle to Kari sleeping. She got off my lap and hovered beside Kari's cradle. I stood up beside her. She ran her hand through Kari's red hair softly, while she slept peacefully. I loved watching Astrid interact with Kari. Made me wonder if Mom had the chance to interact with me as a baby.

She looked up at me from Kari's cradle. "So you have nothing to worry about now," she joke. She then smiled devilishly. "I tell ya, it's something about those Haddock eyes you can't resist, especially dragons."

"Haddock eyes?" I repeated. "What exactly does that mean?" I teased. Toothless poked his head up from his lap and watched me curiously.

"You know," Astrid slid back to me, placing her hands on my shoulders, "the look where you pretend you're innocent, but you're trying to prey others into guilt-trip."

Oh... now I saw where she was going. "You mean... this?" I asked. I tried to make myself look innocent, but I ended up making my eyes bug out. I extended my bottom lip out a little more.

Astrid laughed. "Well, not exactly, but it'll work." She grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me down for a kiss. My gods, she was crafty.

"You think you've got this dad business down?" she asked, when we pulled apart.

I shrugged. "Not really." I chuckled. "I can picture what dad would say." I pumped my chest. "Son, if yer daughter is anything like you, she'll be a hassle."

Astrid flopped her arms. "No kidding, Dad. You could have told me that _months_ ago." Her voice went scratchy at her terrible Hiccup impersonation.

"Seriously, I _don't_ sound like that!" I insisted, but my laughing was getting in the way. I was very sure I didn't have a speech impediment. Who talks like this, anyway?

Astrid was about to burst into laughter, but she covered her mouth before she could. "Maybe we should... take this to our room," she suggested. She gestured over to Kari's crib, who was surprisingly sleeping, despite her noisy parents. She shifted in her sleep, a little.

I nodded in agreement. "Excellent idea, Milady," I whispered. Quietly, we scooted past Kari's cradle and stepped out of the room, Toothless following us. Before I closed the door, I looked back at Kari sleeping. Her hands relaxed in small fists and she breathed a little heavy. Her little chest rose up and down steadily.

Truly a precious sight.

I slowly walked back in to beside her cradle again and bent down to kiss her cheek. Yep, she still had Toothless' saliva on her cheek. I wiped my mouth slightly. Standing up again, I ran my hand through her hair gently. I don't know why, but I found this gesture calming. And helped me feel closer to her.

"Sweet dreams, Kari. Mommy and Daddy love you."

I walked back to Astrid and slowly shut the door behind us. We both walked into our room (which was beside Kari's) and both went into bed, exhausted. Toothless laid at the end of our bed, like he always did. It must have been close to midnight, because we didn't say much or do much else. Then again, we did have a four-month old daughter and we haven't really done much since she was born. But we did cuddle, and we were both content with just that.

As I laid beside Astrid, arms wrapped around her (of course, she pulled my arms over her first), I began to think of Kari more. The whole speech thing I said to her... I truly believed she understood me. There was a gleam in her eyes again when I spoke to her, like some part of her little mind was comprehending what I was saying. Hey, I could be completely wrong and she was just listening to my voice (which is not scratchy), but I saw her focused eyes on me.

And she bonded with Toothless.

I mean, it's crazy, right? She was just laughing at a dragon, no big deal! But I've never seen a baby laugh at a dragon before. Most babies were scared of dragons, merely because they were big and different to them (well... maybe not Terrible Terrors). She really had this unspoken communication like I did as a baby. As I do now.

One thing for sure... Kari and I will have this connection for the rest of our lives. This special connection through dragons that bonds us. I hope I can teach her in the future, about dragons. If she will be anything like me as a kid... I might have some problems. I didn't have a very long attention span. Hopefully, dragons will keep her interested, like I became. And I think that's pretty amazing.

My little girl... was like me.

**To be continued...**


	3. Her Dad

_**Whoa... this is the most reviews, favorites and follows I have ever gotten for just two chapters. This is... awesome!**_

_**(I'm going to keep the Author's notes short, from now on)**_

_**As you've probably seen, I have changed the title to "A Father's Love". I apologize beforehand if it was trouble trying to search for it.**_

_**I was going to have this chapter (or one-shot) up earlier this week, but as I wrote it, the plot differed and things kept on changing. I'll explain more about it in the next update.**_

_**Thank you all for the great feedback. You guys are awesome! :)**_

_**I do not own HTTYD. It belongs to Dreamworks and Cressida Crowell.**_

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_"Any man can be a Father, but it takes someone special to be a dad."_

Anne Geddes.

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**Her Dad**

One of the problems of being Chief was the dang meetings.

Like seriously? What was up with them?

Can't anyone go through a problem without having to consult me beforehand? Because it would make my life (significantly) easier.

Well, it was already easier that I have a Council of Berk's finest men and women who help me make decisions. The only problem was... Snotlout and Tuffnut. They are not the brightest men on Berk, but part of the Council. It evened out: Astrid, Ruffnut, Eret, Fishlegs and Gobber were part of the Council as well.

At the present meeting, Astrid, Gobber and Ruffnut couldn't make it. Astrid was working at the Dragon Academy with Mom (training new riders) while Ruffnut had some bug or something and Gobber was at the blacksmith, filling orders.

Meaning Kari was probably left with Astrid at the Academy.

A grin crossed my face as I thought of Kari. She was a year and a half, and she was brilliant. I really couldn't explain it any other way. She wasn't walking yet, but she had this great vocabulary (she can say up to three words per sentence), and get this: she can draw! I'm not kidding; once, I accidentally left my sketching material lying around for a minute and I come back and Kari was drawing lines all over and holding the pencil perfectly between her thumb and index finger _in her left hand_.

How many children, barely two years old, can do this?

Well... I can only think of one at the moment, and she was my daughter...

I was proud of her, no doubt. And I no longer had doubts of being a father to her.

Walking out of the Great Hall (I had the meeting adjourned early), I quickened my pace through the island. Vikings greeted me and said hello (being neighborly and all), and asked me questions about everything. Most of those questions were about dragon saddles and accessories. Luckily, I was heading down to meet up with Gobber at the blacksmith area to put in said orders.

"Good to see ya, Chief!" Gobber called from the blacksmith. Grump snored loudly from inside. I came in quickly, removing my flight suit and grabbing a pair of gloves and an apron (I'm wearing clothes underneath, don't fret).

"We missed you at the meeting, Gobber. Tuffnut almost made it ten minutes without hitting Snotlout," I revealed, sarcastically. Snotlout and Tuffnut were constantly fighting at meetings, but that's another story.

Gobber chuckled. "That's a new record," he cheered. Suddenly, his hammer (attached to his left arm) went aflame. "Fer cryin' aloud, Grump! You almost killed me!" he groaned. The lazy Hotburple only yawned in response.

"Dang flabbit old lazy lizard!" the blacksmith grumbled in response. He waddled over to his tool compartment and picked out another hammer. "So, Hiccup, how's life outside Chief-work?" he asked.

I shrugged, as I mended a Zippleback saddle. "Pretty good, I guess. Kari no longer screams in the night and Astrid and I've gotten more sleep." Ah, sleep. I didn't realize how much I loved it until Kari woke us up in the night.

"And more lovin', I assume?" Gobber teased.

I made a disgusted face. "Why should I tell you? That's stuff between two married Vikings."

"I'm just sayin'. Makes time for more -"

"Okay, quit it!" I interrupted him, laughing. Seriously, this was him most of the time, getting me to reveal personal things between Astrid and I. Why he does it, I have no idea.

Anyway, I had work to do. So I simply ignored his stupid speech about how life was beautiful and precious. Yea, I get it. I know where babies come from. I have a kid, you know. Trying to mend a dragon saddle was hard when one guy was yapping in your ear. And don't get me started when you're trying to heat up a metal gear and said yapping guy is still chatting about the "_birds and the bees_".

After I finished the saddle, I began working on the orders, which dealt with metal. And let me tell you, when you're working near the heat for a few hours, you tend to get sweaty. The only problem was... it's not exactly recommended to go shirtless while working near fire. When Gobber turned his back, I took off my shirt and tied the apron on my bare chest. Hopefully he didn't (and won't) notice.

"Whoa! Now _that's_ a great view!"

I looked up and saw Astrid coming toward the shop, holding Kari in her arms and Stormfly walking beside her. Kari was wearing her red hair in a tiny braid (her hair was pretty long) and she wore a little fur vest (like my old one), with a red shirt and little fur boots. Her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

Shrugging, I said, "Still not sure what to do with all..._this_?" I asked, gesturing to all of myself and flexing my arms. I don't do it much, but I liked showing myself off to Astrid.

Astrid laughed. "Well, _I'm_ not complaining." She grinned. "But I know exactly what to do with you." She grabbed the hem of my apron from the counter and drew me into a kiss.

"Daddy!" Kari screeched between us. Her saying '_Daddy_' reminded me when she said her first word (it was Daddy, obviously), when she was eleven months old.

"Hey, kiddo!" I laughed, pulling away from Astrid. Kari reached her little arms to me, a big smile on her face.

I smiled. "Sorry, Daddy's a little sweaty." I quickly turned away and grabbed my shirt and threw it over my head, my flight suit in hand. As I was fixing myself through my shirt, I walked myself out of the blacksmith shop (yes, and leaving Gobber) to properly greet my family.

"Sorry about that, Milady," I apologized to Astrid, sheepishly.

"It's alright, you can make up for it later," Astrid grinned slyly. Man, I couldn't resist this woman. I grabbed her and leaned in to kiss her again.

Suddenly, Stormfly came running over and knocked the three of us down. Astrid ended up on top of me while Kari fell on her bottom. Stormfly began to claw at the ground near Astrid and growled. What the heck was wrong with her?

Kari clapped her hands and laughed. Obviously the fall had no effect on her. "Stormy!" she giggled.

I groaned. "We need to put a leash on Stormfly," I insisted. Although slightly perplexed that Stormfly was suddenly protective of Astrid.

She merely laughed and helped me stand up. "C'mon, she's just a little excited! She's been cooped up at the Academy for the past three hours," Astrid said.

"And I've been cooped up at a Council meeting for just as long," I added. "Poor Toothless needs to go flying, as much as I do."

"So we need a leash on you too, Chief?" She joked, punching my arm (which had my flight suit in it). She happened to punch the button to my suit- again- and caused the wings to detatch from the suit.

Kari pointed at me and giggled. "Pop! Pop!"

"Gentle, Astrid!" I reminded her. I swear, she punches me on purpose to get a reaction out of me. _If the springs wear out, I swear-_

"Oh, sorry big baby!" Astrid teased. "Did I break your flying suit-sie cakes?"

As I fixed the suit, I mock-laughed. "Very funny."

Kari laughed. "Mommy funny."

I looked at my daughter, confused. "When are you ever on Mommy's side?" I asked, a smile on my face. Joking with Kari was fun, since she always smiled back.

Astrid huffed. "When she spends most of her day on my hip or riding Stormfly," she countered. "If she spent some time with Daddy, she may side with you in an argument." After that comment, I could tell Astrid was joking.

"Give me a few hours away from Chief work and I'd gladly take our daughter for some one-on-one time," I insisted, teasingly. Then I went serious. "I want to spend time with Kari, I really do. It's just been hectic lately."

Astrid nodded in understanding, while Kari crawled over to Stormfly. "And it doesn't help when half two of your members are blubbering idiots."

"One of those blubbering idiots is my cousin," I pointed out. "And he..." I tried to think of something to make Snotlout seem important in the Council. "Well, he..." I was freezing up. Astrid folded her arms as to say '_I told you so_'. Kari had grabbed on Stomfly's leg and the Naddar began to nibble at her playfully.

I sighed. "I honestly have nothing." Kari was pulling on Stormfly's nose and laughing hysterically. Stormfly didn't complain at all; she merely nuzzled with her.

"Hiccup, I have double-time at the Academy. Can you watch Kari for a few hours?" Astrid asked. Stormfly had picked up Kari by her vest and held her at Astrid's height.

Hold on. Did she say... "Right now? As in _today_ for a few hours?" I clarified.

"Yes, you oaf!" she emphasized.

"Oaf! Oaf!" Kari repeated, hanging from Stormfly's mouth.

I sighed. "Look, Astrid. As much as I love spending time with Kari, I have to go to Itchy Armpit." I grinned, hopefully. "I was kind of wondering if you'd run some Chief errands while I go there and Mom could take over at the Academy." I didn't have to go to Itchy Armpit. I just wanted some time away as Chief. I wanted some freedom.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "You know that '_spending time with your daughter_' time you _just_ complained about?" She unhook Kari from Stormfly's teeth. "Well, why don't you take Kari to Itchy Armpit?" she offered, holding up Kari to my face.

Wait. Take Kari on _Toothless_? Is she _nuts_?

"You know, Toothless hasn't had much practice with a baby riding him," I reminded her, taking Kari. It wasn't that Toothless and I hadn't tried... it was because I didn't want Kari getting hurt. She was too little.

"Then this is a great opportunity to introduce her to dragon riding," Astrid pointed out, stroking Stormfly's muzzle affectionately. Stormfly purred.

"She's only-OW!-a year and a half!" I justified. Kari had pulled on one of the braids in my hair and yanked. Really. Hard.

Seriously, is Astrid crazy for thinking such an idea (along with continuously making braids in my hair)?

Astrid laughed, "And you have experience riding Toothless, so you know how to fly him. Besides, just put her in a basket on your back and fly slow. She'll love it."

"Toofy!" Kari giggled in excitement, pulling my braid again. Really, she was _not_ helping. With the whole '_helping Mommy prove her point_' and '_look, Daddy has braids so that means we can pull on them_'.

Astrid grinned, "Look, you go to Itchy Armpit with Kari, and I'll take care of the Council stuff and Valka can train at the Academy." She kissed my cheek. "It'll be fun."

I groaned. I literally would feed myself to the Red Death if she wanted me to. "Fine. I'll let her come with me." But this didn't mean I agreed with her. Kari could get hurt easily.

Astrid smiled widely. She turned to face Kari. "Did you hear that, Kar? You're going with Daddy and Toothless!"

Kari squealed. "Daddy! Toofy!"

I groaned. "Well, I guess that settles it." Why did I let Astrid use the '_daughter_' card on me? Was it because Kari has me wrapped around her finger? Or that I would even fight Drago again for my daughter? Be as it may, I still didn't agree with taking Kari for flying.

Astrid grinned. "Thank you so much, babe!" she kissed my cheek again. Then she kissed Kari. "You be a good girl for Daddy, okay?"

Kari grinned and hugged my neck. "Okay!"

"You know, I still question your parenting methods," I told Astrid, deadpanned. The stubborn viking merely shrugged and jumped on Stormfly's back.

"Be back before sunset, Mr. Chief," Astrid ordered. "Gobber's making dinner tonight."

I laughed, "Because my fair Lady cannot cook a decent meal without it burning the house down?"

Astrid huffed in annoyance. "Don't you have an island to visit?"

Groaning playfully, I climbed up to Stormfly, kissing Astrid's cheek. "Love you." Before she could respond, I jumped down from the Deadly Naddar and began to run toward our house, Kari in my arms. Since it was a while away from the blacksmith hut (and on a hill), I started to get winded quickly. It doesn't help when you have a peg leg and carrying a baby.

Kari could hardly contain herself as we got closer to the house. She loved Toothless so much and they would always play together when the got the chance. Only thing... she was getting hard to hold as she squirmed to play with one of her best friends.

I opened the door. "Toothless, I'm home, bud!" I shouted. Placing Kari on the floor, I added, "And we're going to take Kari for a ride."

Toothless came bolting down the stairs. He immediately leaped at me and knocked me down. He then nuzzled his head against my side. He learned a long time ago not to lick me while I wore, or carried, my flight suit.

"Yea, I missed you, too, bud," I cooed with him. Looking back, I saw Kari playing with a sack of flour. "Oh, Tooth-less," I sung, "Kari missed you too."

Toothless tilted his head at me. He watched where my head turned and saw Kari as well. He shook uncontrollably and leaped over me, licking Kari's face playfully.

"Toofy!" she laughed, while covered in dragon saliva.

"Toothless, you realize that does _not_ wash out," I reminded the dragon. He simply purred and nuzzled Kari again. On the other hand, Kari licked his nose, to which Toothless purred again. It was pretty cute, I guess.

Now, all I had to worry about was making a basket for Kari to ride in. But how was I going to do that? I have no idea how to make baskets, and we didn't have any made for Kari. Usually, Astrid and I carried Kari, since she outgrew the one she had at six months old (but then she outgrew it, little bugger).

I walked over to the table, while Kari sat on Toothless' head and scratched behind his fins. Taking a seat, I sat myself down and took out some papers and my pencil. I had to come up with a good basket, so it wouldn't fall off if Toothless decided to spin (and not listen to me). I wanted to get the design done quickly, so we could go flying longer. But it was hard to think with Toothless growling playfully and Kari screaming in delight (along with the bloody beast bouncing all over the house and knocking over the furniture).

It took a while, but I finally found out a solution to have Kari fly safely on Toothless. I easily added a few hooks to my flight suit, Toothless' saddle and a waist basket I found, which easily fit Kari. The basket hooked to my back (from its front) and at the bottom to Toothless' saddle. And for good measures, I added a red symbol to the side: the one of Toothless that matched his fin and my suit.

Astrid _did_ have a point. I needed some time with Kari. Personal time. Sure, I was her father and all, but was I being a good dad? Astrid and I shared time taking care of her, but have I been actually spending time with her? Hopefully, flying with Kari will strengthen our relationship.

Huh. Maybe Astrid's parenting techniques _weren't_ as far-fetched as I thought.

After I finished, and it took about two hours, I showed off my work to Toothless, who seemed impressed. Now, there was one more thing I had to add: a mask for Kari. I had one because the wind could be hard on my face, and I imagined it would hurt her. It was simple to make, just a piece of wood with eyes cut out.

"Hold still, Kari Rowan!" I ordered Kari. I was trying to fit the mask over her face but she was not listening to me at all. She kept squirming in her basket outside the house, strapped to Toothless' saddle.

Kari giggled. "Tickle Daddy!"

Toothless roared with laughter.

"Will you _stop_ that!?" I whispered to Toothless, extremely annoyed. He licked my face in response. Great. Night Fury saliva.

It was Kari's turn to laugh, which gave me the opportunity to put the mask on her face. Suddenly, she began to scream. But it was more of a scared-kind of scream, which was unusual for her at this age. She never screamed unless she was hurt or scared.

Oops. Maybe it _was_ the mask.

I held up mine. "Look, Kari. Daddy's got one, too." Placing it on my face, I smiled (which she couldn't see). "See? No scary."

Kari's eyes squinted and she laughed slightly. "No scary," she repeated.

I nodded. "Good." Patting Toothless, I jumped on the saddle and strapped Kari's basket to my back. "Okay, bud. We're going to take this nice and slow."

Toothless groaned sadly.

"I know, I know, bud. But we have to go slow for Kari," I muffled behind my mask. Toothless' ears perked at the mention of Kari.

I patted Toothless' head again. "Ready to go, bud?" I asked. Toothless roared happily and began to flap his wings. The wind from his wings already sent my blood rushing; I loved the adrenaline of flying. Toothless began to lift off the ground, but I patted him once again. "Easy, bud. Remember, we have a young traveler," I reminded my best friend. Kari had grabbed on my shoulders and mumbled "Daddy" a few times.

"It's okay, Kari. We won't go fast," I assured her. I placed my left hand to her right on my shoulder and held it in reassurance. _I'm not going to let go_, I promised.

Toothless growled again and began to fly towards the sky. Kari began to squeal at first, since she wasn't used to flying. I shifted the gears on Toothless' tail and we were leveled out, as we flew over Berk. As the Night Fury soared, Berk disappeared behind us.

We were airborne.

Man, this was probably the best feeling in the world. The wind in my face, no worries at all. The sky was pretty clear, with the exception of clouds above us and the few wild Changewings flying around. I could live like this for the rest of my life. And I knew that as a fifteen year old boy. I knew I was born to fly.

_Now time to spice things up a bit_. "Hold on tight!" I shouted.

Toothless roared and began to fly faster over the clear blue ocean, with Thunderdrums flying nearby. The wind was blowing in my face and I was glad Kari and I were wearing masks. Toothless flew straight up, heading towards the sun and away from the ocean. He flew higher so we were literally underneath the clouds. I shifted the gear so Toothless could glide.

Kari squealed happily behind me. "Cloud!" she yelled happily. I turned my head to see her on my back, and she was lifting her hand and dragging it in the clouds. I smiled. She was enjoying this as much as I do.

"You having fun, kiddo?" I asked.

"Fun!" Kari agreed. She had the biggest smile on her face. Well... I think she did. And who could blame her? She wasn't crying or anything. And she was my kid, after all. I then realized Kari wasn't just like me because of our connections with dragons... she enjoyed flying. No, she loved flying. She was like me. Again.

I grinned. "Wanna see Daddy do a trick?" I asked.

Kari nodded.

I hooked Kari to the saddle. "Toothless, go easy," I warned. He sighed in response, but didn't argue. Rolling my shoulders, I slid myself off the saddle and fell. A gust of wind pulled me up and I pulled the wings out, and soon was gliding beside Kari and Toothless.

"How's this for a trick?" I asked, smiling under my mask.

Kari's green eyes squinted, so I guessed she was smiling. "Funny, Daddy!" she squealed.

Toothless groaned in annoyance. _Get back on the saddle_, he seemed to hiss. He never liked having me not fly him, maybe because I almost died a few times from falling off his saddle. Then again, he can't fly without me.

Knowing it was best to listen to Toothless, I glided myself closer to him. He dropped in hight slightly, so I was hovering over him. I slowly dropped myself to the saddle and hooked Kari's basket back on me.

Kari giggled again.

We flew for the next few minutes (which felt like nothing) until Toothless and I spotted a familiar island of trees and slopes. Thinking fast, I switched the gears again so Toothless could land softy. Once Toothless landed, I jumped off his saddle and hoisted Kari out of her basket.

"Welcome to Itchy Armpit!" I introduced to her, placing her down on the ground beside me.

The land was beautiful, like it was the first time Toothless and I found it. The leaves were turning red, due to winter's close approach. There were a few dragons flying over us, but they weren't threatening. I still hoped there were chances of another Night Fury out there, so Toothless wasn't alone.

Kari giggled and laid on her back, her arms and legs spread out on the grass. Because it was so adorable, I laid beside her. She pointed to the sky at a Timberjack a hundred feet above us.

"Twimer-Jack!" she cooed.

"Good job, kiddo!" I congratulated. She truly was smart for her age. Yea, she couldn't pronounce the name well, but she still was brilliant. I don't care how many times I said it: I'm so proud of her.

Toothless curled up beside us and began to clean himself. Kari looked up and smiled at him. The Night Fury smiled a toothless grin back and pawed at her. Kari giggled and crawled over to him and hugged his neck.

I sat up and smiled. "I swear, she could be your kid," I joked to Toothless.

Toothless playfully licked Kari's cheek in response. The way he treated her, being gentle and playful, he was kind of like an uncle/dad to her. In a weird sort of way. Maybe he thought Kari was a dragon hatchling who needed constant supervision. I know I need it sometimes.

Looking back up at the sky, I laid my head against Toothless' shoulder. Here, with my daughter and my best friend, enjoying peace and quiet for once. It was though my worries have gone and left.

"Daddy!" she called out.

I shot my head forward. Kari had crawled a few meters away from Toothless and I to play with a flower. The way she was positioning herself, she looked like she was trying to stand up or something. She was... trying to walk. Gods, she was trying to walk. My Gods... she was trying to _walk_!

I stood up slightly and held out my hands to her. "Come to Daddy," I encouraged her. I couldn't believe she was attempting to crawl. And at Itchy Armpit. Toothless lifted his head and watched Kari in anticipation.

Kari slowly stood herself up and held her hands out. She looked up at me and smiled. Slowly, but surely, she lifted her left foot and took a step. My Gods... she took her first step. I tried to contain my feelings; I wasn't going to cry. I _wasn't_ going to cry.

Then, she took another step, but she wasn't as confident with it as her first one. She wobbled a little with her second step.

"Keep going, baby. You've got this," I encouraged. Kari nodded and took two more steps. She wobbled a little again, but she kept her balance. I knew she was determined to walk by herself; Astrid has the same determination.

If only Astrid was here to see this...

Kari squeezed her fists and took a faster pace towards me. She held out her arms and literally fell into my outstretched arms.

"Yes! Kari, you walked! You walked!" I cheered. I stood up and held her up to me. My Gods, my baby girl took her first steps! And it was amazing!

Kari giggled and hugged my neck.

"Oh, Kari, you're getting to be a big girl, aren't you?" I told her. Kari giggled again.

"Big girl!" she agreed.

The realization hit me in the chest. She _was_ growing up. She now could walk and ride dragons. I looked down at her. But she was still a baby. A smart, determined little girl who was perfect and... growing up in front of me. Wait, she couldn't grow up quickly. She's my baby girl!

I knew she wasn't going to stay a baby for long, but this seemed too fast, even for me. How was I going to cope with her as an older kid? Will she be like me and not want to stay bounded to Berk? And could I allow her to grow up and explore the world as I did (and still do)? What if she outgrows me as well?

Only time will tell, I guess.

But for now, Kari was my little girl, and nothing else mattered at this moment. Not Berk, not dragons, not even Chief duties. While I had Kari with me, she was my whole world. She was my everything.

And I was proud and happy being her father. _Her_ Dad.

**To be continued...**


	4. New Arrivals

**_So here is another chapter! And I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever: I wanted to make this update really good :)_**

**_Also, I am on vacation (I'm in a beautiful hotel with my family), but hopefully I'll have another chapter up by next week._**

**_Thank you all again for the amazing support and feedback :)_**

* * *

_"Every child begins the world again."_

Henry David Thoreau

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**New Arrivals**

_(Shortly after "Her Dad")_

One of the things I like most about Itchy Armpit was the seclusion.

It was many, many, many miles away from Berk, and the perfect place to hide from social duties as Chief. And also makes a great place to freely discuss anything, since there are no other human ears listening for said many miles.

I will admit, I've visited this island a few times since I became Chief. But I only do so once in a few months. And then I can only separate myself from any sort of duties for an hour or so. Yea, I'm not really suppose to, but it helps me cope with the busy life of being a Chief, son, husband and father.

Hey, I'm not saying I don't like my roles. I just appreciate my time away from Berk.

Toothless pawed at me. _Play!_ he demanded.

"Sorry, bud. Kari's a little tired," I told him. She had fallen asleep in my arms and was suckling her thumb, a habit she picked up at seven months old. It was adorable, I just hoped it wouldn't become a bad habit. According to my dad, I sucked my thumb until I was seven, and my teeth strangely went crooked.

"Daddy?" Kari yawned, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"I'm here, baby girl." I grinned and lightly patted her back. "That walking tuckered you out, didn't it?"

Kari nodded. I'm still amazed she can comprehend what I'm saying. Or maybe she was just purely nodding. I don't know, but I like the first possibility. Makes her smarter, I guess (by they way, she already was brilliant).

And I'm still proud of her that she walked by herself! For the past few months, I was brining to worry because she was talking and writing (I'm still blown away by that) and yet no walking. Well, Kari just proved she is the most brilliant child on Berk, so UP YOURS, ERET!

"Maybe we should go back and tell Mommy, eh?" I offered. It was about time we did, anyway. I couldn't run away from my Chief duties, or leave Astrid in the dust of things. And honestly... I wanted some alone time with her, too.

It's hard, being married with a kid and a village to care for.

The toddler was about to nod, when a noise distracted us. Looking up to the source of the noise, Toothless and I saw a branch dangling from a piece of bark. The branch...well...looked incredibly big. And that thin bark

I quickly got up, Kari in my arms. "C'mon, bud!" I told Toothless, pulling his harness. If only he wasn't three five hundred pounds. Luckily, he immediately followed my pull and we ran away from the tree. The second we moved, the branch broke and crashed where we sat. The shock of the sudden branch kept me from thinking clearly. Or even speaking clearly.

All I could mutter was "Ha-haa-haaaa...uh...".

Yea, I know: very Chief-like. Hey, anyone would react the same way if they were inched a yaw from being crushed to death by a freaking huge branch!

Toothless inched closer to the branch and began to sniff curiously. He looked back at me, which made his eyes bigger than normal, and walked closer to the branch. Something must have caught his smell, and interest, because his body began to shake uncontrollably.

"What is it, bud?" I asked, Kari cradled close to my chest.

The Night Fury went closer to the branch. He sniffed the branch with quick intakes. Suddenly, his ears perked. He looked back at me and smiled his toothless grin and jumped around playfully. Kari thought Toothless was playing so she began to squeal happily.

"Toothless, what's gotten into you?" I asked, as Toothless shoved me toward the branch with his head. Obviously, he wanted to show me something. Rolling my eyes, I quickly checked the branch, placing Kari down beside me. But there wasn't really anything on it. I mean, no blood or any reason Toothless could go crazy over it.

Unless there was dragon nip on it.

I sniffed it again. Nope, not dragon nip. It doesn't have that tangy smell to it. Toothless would have acted crazier than this over dragon nip, so I can cross _that_ off the list.

"Daddy!" Kari squealed.

I looked beside me and noticed Kari wasn't at my side anymore. Great, can't that girl sit quietly for a minute without wandering off with her short attention span? I mean, where did she get it from? If she's like this as a teenager, I am royally screwed.

Wait, her voice came from behind me...

Looking behind me, I saw Kari pointing at the tree above us. Toothless was sitting beside her and looking up in the same direction as her finger, his pupils big with curiosity. Not having much of a choice, I joined them and followed their direction of attention.

I gasped.

Sitting near where the branch had broken... was a Night Fury. A real, actual, living Night Fury. A Night Fury which looked just like Toothless, except it was much tinier. I mean, it was completely black and had the big green eyes with the adorable black pupils that filled most it's face.

Wait... it was a _baby_ Night Fury!

No wonder Toothless was going crazy. He wasn't used to seeing other Night Furies. We thought he was the last of his kind. Ever since I got Toothless, I've been searching for another Night Fury, to no avail. Even Mom believed Toothless was the last one. Yet now there is an actual _Night Fury_ looking down at us.

I waved at it. "Hello, little guy."

The baby Night Fury tilted their head to the side, with its cute eyes. Could this baby have intelligence? I mean, I knew Night Furies were intelligent through Toothless, but could baby Night Furies have intelligence as well?

Kari clapped her hands excitedly. "Toofy!" she squealed as she stood up and held on my peg leg for support.

I patted her head. "It's a baby Night Fury, kiddo." I looked back up and gestured the baby dragon down to us. "It's okay, little guy. I'm not going to hurt you."

Toothless purred, as to agree with me.

The baby dragon gulped a little, but it opened its little wings and floated down to us from the tree. It landed a few meters away from us and sat on the ground. I noticed its actual height: it probably was as big as Kari and was barely as tall as my knees. And its face was chubbier than Toothess', probably because it was a baby, along with smaller wings. I figured it was a bit smaller than a full-grown Terrible Terror.

_But how did it get in the tree?_

I held out my hand and walked closer to the dragon. The baby's eyes widened and backed away from me. Sensing it's timidness, I bend down in a crouch and shifted myself closer to it, my hand out gently. The baby dragon sneered its teeth at me, defensively.

Sighing, I looked over to Toothless. "Wanna give it a shot, bud?" I asked. The Night Fury nodded and walked over to the baby. He started sniffing it, but the baby jumped away from him and gave him a not-so-threatening growl. Toothless tried to lick the baby, but all he got in response was a tiny nip from it. Hmmm. Maybe baby Night Furies are more aggressive than adults.

Kari giggled and began to walked toward the baby dragon.

"Kari! Wait!" I whispered, desperately. Did she really have to go all '_yea, dragons_!' on this hatchling? Because it's not helping. I have no idea how this hatchling's going to react to a baby Viking. How was I going to explain to Astrid our daughter was attacked or killed by a baby Night Fury?

But something strange happened.

The toddler held out her hand like I did, to the baby dragon. The little Night Fury turned its head towards Kari and began to slowly walk over to her outstretched hand. It sniffed her hand quickly and barred its teeth at her.

"Okay...no...hurt," Kari said slowly.

The baby dragon closed its eyes gently and pressed its head against her palm.

Wait... did Kari just-

The baby dragon immediately leaped on Kari, pushing her down. It then proceeded to lick her face with its tongue. Kari giggled uncontrollably as the baby dragon covered her face with its disgusting Night Fury saliva.

"Stop! Stop!" Kari squealed between her giggles. I was trying hard myself not to laugh. The baby dragon immediately ceased its licking and sat down on her stomach. Kari giggled, which was hard for her since a baby Night Fury was sitting on her.

Toothless came around and sat beside me.

She found her dragon, he purred.

Yes, Toothless was right: Kari found her dragon, and she was using the same methods (well, almost) as I did with Toothless. My baby daughter befriended a baby dragon. And it was a Night Fury!

Man, this little girl was more like me than I thought.

I walked over to Kari and her new friend and patted the baby dragon's head. It immediately purred under my hand, now sensing I was not a threat. Kari smiled at me and reached her hands to me. The little dragon saw her arms go up and it leaped off her and ran over to Toothless.

"Kari, you have a Night Fury!" I exclaimed. "You're _just_ like Daddy now!"

Kari clapped her hands. "Furry!" she agreed.

I laughed and hugged her. "Man, you know now we're going to have some interesting races, you know that?" I told her, jokingly. It was true, though: Night Furies are the fastest dragons we know. Kari can experience riding a Night Fury, her own Night Fury. And she can grow up with him, or her, which could make them even closer. I guess it was lucky for us to get a baby Night Fury.

Hold on... why would there be a baby by itself?

I looked over to Toothless. The older Night Fury groaned as the hatchling chewed on his left ear playfully. Toothless almost looked like the Bewilderbeast when the baby Scuttleclaws flew around him, since he could not control them. Man, now that there was a baby Night Fury, how was Toothless going to cope? It wasn't like he could control the hatchling.

"Bud, we need to search for a bit. There must have other Night Furies here," I explained. Well, I was hopeful. No one should live alone, and I wanted my best friend to experience Night Furies in his life.

Toothless nodded and nudged the hatchling. I grabbed Kari's mask and placed it on her face again (she fought for a moment, but grudgingly let me put it on). Placing her back in the basket, I mounted Toothless. I picked the baby up and placed it between me and Toothless' saddle.

"Let's go, bud!" I told him.

Toothless roared, took off and we were hovering over Itchy Armpit.

As Toothless circled around the surrounding area, I kept my eye on any clue of other Night Furies in the surrounding area. We first searched the trees, then the lower grounds, but we couldn't find anything. We saw other dragons around, but none were the species we were trying to find.

We must had been searching for hours because the sun was beginning to set. Looking at the sky, I signed. This will have to wait. Kari and the baby dragon had fallen asleep and were snoring lightly. Even I found myself dozing off. And not only that, I had told Astrid I would only be an hour or so. It definitely had been longer than that.

_But there are more out there, I'm sure._ "Toothless, c'mon, we gotta go back to Berk," I told him, patting his neck. Toothless groaned sadly. I know, he wanted to find other Night Furies. "We'll come back, I promise."

The Night Fury nodded sadly and turned himself around and we flew back to Berk without another word. And I will say: it was the quietest flight we've ever had. Sad because we couldn't fin any other Night Furies, but it was a happy ride. We found a Night Fury, for crying out loud!

Hopefully no one noticed we were gone long...

* * *

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, you have been gone for _hours_!"

Toothless landed at our home, where Astrid and Stormfly were waiting. Astrid looked furious, but I could see a hint of humor in her eyes. I was lucky. If she was extremely furious, I would have found myself at the bottom of the ocean by now. I knew she won't stay upset long once she found out what Kari did.

"Sorry, Milady. The rascals fell asleep," I admitted, sheepishly. Getting off of Toothless, I showed Astrid the dragon in my arms. The baby Night Fury huddled into my chest, so Astrid couldn't see its face.

Astrid walked closer to me and gave me a confused look. "A baby dragon?" she asked, stating the obvious.

The baby dragon turned its head over and yawned. It looked up at Astrid tiredly and stretched its little legs. I admit, it was pretty cute.

Astrid couldn't help but coo. "Aww, Hiccup. It's adorable!" she squealed. She then gasped. "Hiccup, it's a _Night Fury_!" she realized. I tried to hold back a sarcastic remark. I mean, did she really have to state the obvious? Then again, she has never seen a baby Night Fury until now, and I reacted the same way.

Slowly, she patted the dragon's head, to which it purred softly. "Say, is it a boy or a girl?" she wondered.

That was a good question. "I honestly could not tell you," I admitted. I smiled again. "Kari was the first one it trusted."

"And the Great Dragon Master couldn't," Astrid chuckled.

"Hey!" I objected. Astrid continued to laugh with me. Yes, I couldn't get a baby dragon to trust me. _Are you happy now, Astrid_? One little dragon resisted my luck, and it had to be the only baby Night Fury we could find.

Astrid took the baby dragon from my arms and held it out. "Well, I'm sure Toothless is happy with it." To prove her point, Toothless sniffed the baby dragon and smiled a toothless grin. He licked the hatchling's head for good measures.

"Yea, he was acting all giddy." I chuckled, remembering Toothless jumping around. Then I remembered something else. "I... we couldn't find it's mother. Or any other Night Fury."

Astrid looked up at me. Her face softened. "Oh, babe..." She knew my disappointment. I had to tell her countless times of the Night Fury sightings people saw but were proven wrong. And she had to deal with my disappointment, which wasn't fair to her.

I shrugged. "It's okay. We'll find more." I patted Toothless' head. "Right, bud?" I asked my best friend. Toothless purred in agreement.

"Daddy?" Kari yawned. I smiled and walked over to the saddle and lifted her out of the basket.

Astrid chuckled. "I see you had fun with her," she noted.

"Yea, she was a perfect little angel, weren't you?" I cooed. Kari giggled and held her arms out to Astrid. I love how Kari interacts with Astrid; I swear Kari will end up like her as a teenager.

As Astrid took Kari (and placed the baby dragon down near Toothless), I noticed something different about her. The way her arms didn't exactly leave her waist. Almost as though she was... guarding something. Protective, almost.

I shrugged. Maybe I was just imagining things and over-thinking. I was tired; flying Toothless and staying up in the atmosphere is exhausting. The constraint air in my face, despite the mask, hurts slightly and causes drowsiness.

Speaking of over-thinking, I remembered something. "Guess what our daughter did at Itchy Armpit?" I asked.

Astrid grinned, while Stormfly sniffed the baby Night Fury and Toothless smiled proudly. Was he already acting like a father? Only time will tell.

"I don't know... did she fly on Toothless by herself?" Astrid asked.

I laughed. "Well, a little-"

"_Hiccup_!"

"Wha-_Ow_!" Astrid had punched me in the shoulder. Abuse much.

Astrid laughed. "I'm kidding. What did she do?"

I smiled again. "She walked!"

Astrid smiled widely at Kari. "Is that true, baby girl? Did you walk by yourself?"

"Yep!" Kari agreed.

"Can Mommy see?" she asked.

"No!" Kari grinned.

"Please can Mommy see?"

"Nope."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "She is totally Daddy's girl, without a doubt."

Kari grinned and pointed to the baby dragon, who was biting on Stormfly's wing and Toothless was making a laughing noise. "Dwagon!" she cooed. Astrid shrugged and placed Kari down on the ground. The baby dragon immediately released its grasp on Stormfly and proceeded to lick Kari's face.

While Kari played with the dragons, Astrid took me aside. "Hiccup... Since we're talking about babies...I have some news."

I smiled. "News?" I repeated. "Wouldn't I know it already?" One of the perks of being Chief... I always know what's going on. Whether there be newcomers, someone was sick, dying, or having a baby.

I paused. _We were talking about the baby Night Fury_. Astrid was smiling sheepishly. "Wait... are you...?" I began.

Astrid's smile grew. "I checked with the healer's this morning... and I'm a couple of months long."

Whoa... _another_ baby?

Laughing happily, I grabbed Astrid and spun her. "This is amazing! Another baby!" I cheered. "Kari will have a brother or sister, and our family's gonna be bigger!" I realized.

"Wait..." I thought it over. "Kari will only be over two years old... and she's still a bit of work." She was still a baby, constantly needing both Astrid and I. Not to mention she was energetic and had a short attention span. How would we cope with a toddler and a newborn? Now that she can walk, who knows what kind of trouble she can get into? Well, probably more now that she can walk and has this hatchling to play with.

And can Kari understand that our attention will be on another child as well?

Astrid played with the braid in my hair. "Hiccup... do you think... we're taking this too fast?" she asked. "If you're not ready for another-"

"No," I interrupted, holding her at arm's length by the shoulders. I wasn't going to let Astrid talk about... _that_. "Sure, the timing wasn't the best, but it'll easier, now that we know what we're doing," I told her, sincere.

Astrid smiled again. "I hope you're right."

I smiled as well. "Good, now can we tell Kari the news?"

"She won't understand," Astrid insisted.

I laughed, "Astrid, do you not know Kari? She's _brilliant_! She can comprehend more things most adults couldn't."

Astrid nodded. "Well, if you insist."

Smiling again like an idiot, I grabbed Kari and held her up. "Did you hear Mommy, Kar? You're going to be a big sister!"

Kari tilted her head in confusion.

"Another baby, Kari!"

Kari smiled a little. "Baby?" she asked. She promptly pointed to the baby Night Fury.

"No, kiddo. A baby _human_," I explained.

Kari nodded in understanding, then she turned her head around in confusion. "Baby?" she called out. "Baby?"

Maybe she thought the baby was actually here. I tried not to laugh of the adorable-ness.

Astrid laughed. "Baby's in Mommy's tummy," she told Kari, patting her own stomach.

I think Kari understood (to a certain agree) because she looked at Astrid's torso. Her head tilted to the side again, just as the baby dragon did when we first saw it. Or when it first saw us. She did look a little confused, but I knew she'll understand.

"Baby!" Kari cheered, reaching over to Astrid.

I couldn't help but laugh again. Here was Kari, our baby, practically, now becoming a sister. An older sister.

Now, I've never had an older sister, or brother. Well, Dagur the Dreadful, who acted like a bullying older brother, doesn't count. Not really. So I don't know how it feels to share a parent's love, time, or attention. With me, I had to share my father with the rest of Berk. Even then, most of his time focusing on the safety of the village. Myself... I have Astrid, Mom, the village, Kari, Toothless, the dragons and now two new members of the family (well... one pending) to worry about.

And I'm glad Mom and Astrid will be there.

I don't know how Kari will react to this new change in her life. The baby dragon and baby human. Two new lives we now have to care for. I only hope Kari can quickly understand that our attention will go from her to the new babies. One thing I cannot handle is sibling rivalry, purely due to my lack of knowledge of the subject.

But Kari is smart. She'll catch on soon that the baby dragon will need training, since we can't have it blow up the island. And we don't even know how Night Fury hatchlings behave. But we'll catch on. For the whole sibling thing, that remains uncertain. Maybe I'm just overreacting and Kari will enjoy a baby brother or sister.

Astrid and I will be able to handle two children. I know we can. If we can handle Kari, another baby will be easy.

Well... not including the Deadly Naddar, two Night Furies and two Terrible Terrors we own now.

_This_ outa be interesting...

**To be continued...**


	5. Terrible Twos

**_Holy crap, guys! Your support is awesome!_**

**_I would like to mention everyone single person who favorited, followed and reviewed "A Father's Love", but there are so many of you! I counted like... fifty individual guests and URLs._**

**_(I'm sorry, I lied. I didn't count XD)_**

**_How about a virtual hug for all of you? Because I love you all :)_**

**_Also, I'm going to start taking requests, if you want to offer any ideas :) You can either PM me or leave a review. :)_**

**_P.S I do not own HTTYD. I think I might have forgotten to add that in chapter 4, so I'm including it here with this chapter's disclaimer._**

**_P.P.S I had an extremely hard time coming up with a good name for Kari's Night Fury. Hope you guys can figure out the reason behind the name ;)_**

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_"A toddler believes that if you love a person, you stay with that person 100 percent of the time."_

Lawrence Balter

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**Terrible Twos**

Man, the Gods hate my life.

I run an entire village of Hairy Hooligans (mind you, they are both hairy and hooligans), half-time train dragon riders and father two children. Yes, you heard me correctly: I, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III am the... proud and _patient_... father of two children.

Whose patience is running low. Very. _Very_. _Low_.

It doesn't help when you have a teething six month old baby with a two-year (and seven months) old toddler both screaming at the top of their lungs. And both parents are with them, running low on patience. And four dragons groaned in annoyance in the background. Not to mention the dragons always try to steal our food.

Yea... _not_ fun at all.

"Hiccup, did you get the teething remedy?" Astrid asked over the baby's crying. I had just walked in the door with the errands I just picked up. Toothless came running in and nuzzled Shadow, Kari's Night Fury, whom Toothless had adopted as his daughter.

How she got her name... well, that's a _different_ story.

Lets just saw Kari and Shadow were... inseparable. You couldn't find one of them without the other. It was like they attach at the hip or something. They slept, ate, and played together. _Literally_. Well, most of the time it was Shadow following Kari's lead and Kari commanding Shadow. Neither minded, though.

I handed Astrid a small cup. "Siv says to rub it on his gums and it should numb them for a couple of hours." Siv Anderson was the local healer and herb-brewer, who married Snotlout and both had a son named Snifflout. Yea, Snotlout's not very creative when it comes to baby-naming.

Astrid took the cup willingly. "Thank you so much," she thanked, giving me a kiss.

Kari stood at the table holding Beanie in her hand. "Mommy! Hungie!" she yelled. She threw her plate across the dining area, and Sharpshot and Sneaky were beginning to eat the condiments. Sharpshot was growling at Sneaky for the potatoes, and Shadow was licking sauce off Kari's hands.

_I'm guessing Kari didn't like Astrid's cooking tonight._

It's normal. No one ever does.

Well, except the dragons, but I honestly think they don't care about the taste.

Astrid groaned in annoyance. "Kari, that's all I could make. Now, please eat your potatoes and drink your yak milk." _A little late, isn't it, Astrid?_ I joked, eyeing the plate Sharpshot was eating.

Kari shook her head, "No!"

I tried hard _not_ to laugh. "I think Kari's protesting, Astrid." I pretended to gag. "You're cooking skills are as bad as Mom's." Kari giggled slightly.

Astrid gave me a deadly glare. "Not. Helping." She was trying to rub the herb on the baby's gums, but all it did was make him cry louder.

_So, she's _not_ in a joking mood._ Taking off my vest and hanging it on a chair, I walked over to Kari. "Honey, please don't yell at Mommy," I tried to tell her over the baby's screaming.

If you were wondering, the baby was Haldor Stoick Haddock, our firstborn son. And, much like his older sister, he was very impatient. Unlike his sister, he had brown hair and blue eyes. In addition, he was a big baby. And I mean **big** baby. Bigger than Kari was at his age, at least.

When Haldor was born, the midwives said he'll be a beefy Viking. Gothi even agreed and said Haldor will grow up strong like Stoick the Vast. Something about Hal's bone structure, or something like that. Hmm. Perhaps it was fitting to name Hal after my father. I just hope Hal's got some of my brains in him. Only because I don't know if I could handle another Stoick. Mentally and emotionally.

Kari rolled her eyes at my negotiations. _Man, she _really_ likes to pick up my bad habits, doesn't she?_ And she just happen to have inherited my eyes, which was worse.

"No po...tae...toes," the toddler said.

Aside from the cute way she tried to sound out '_potatoes_', I was a little shocked. "You love this, don't you, kiddo?" I tried to reason. The only reason we had potatoes as much as we did was because of her. The healers said she was entering a "picky" stage.

"No!" Kari groaned. She folded her arms and huffed. Shadow glanced up at Kari and tried to make a huffing noise and look stern like Kari.

Now I know why they're called "_Terrible Twos_".

"Hiccup, can you please deal with her?" Astrid asked, wearily. She handed me a plateful of more potatoes and some fish. Haldor continued to cry, with his abnormally large fists shaking in the air.

After she had Haldor, Astrid's been looking... older. I think it's from taking care of two children. Well, three babies, if you want to count a teething and energetic Night Fury who never left a toddler's side. I guess three babies can drain the energy out of anyone. Even _Astrid_.

I handed Kari the new plate of food, which Sharpshot was still eating her old one. Astrid walked up the stairs (I didn't see, but I could hear Hal's cries quieting and Astrid's footprints on the stairs) while I took a seat beside Kari at the table. Shadow stood right beside Kari, both standing on the same stool.

"Please, will you eat your food?" I asked nicely.

"No!" Kari hollered.

I sighed. _Breath calmly_. "Kari Rowan Haddock," I said in a stern voice, "This is all we have. Unless you want to go to bed hungry, I suggest you eat what you have in front of you."

Man, I hated using my strict voice with her. It reminded me of how Dad used to talk to me, like someone skimmed on the meat in his sandwich: with a disappointed tone. I promised myself I wouldn't treat any of my children like that. However, such things run in the family, I guess. And I hated it.

Kari looked down at the food in front of her. Slowly, she sat down in her chair properly. Shadow mimicked her. Glancing back at me, she took a hold of her fork and jabbed it in her potatoes. As she ate her potatoes, she continued to glare at me.

Well, at least she was eating, despite inheriting Astrid's glaring eyes, which sent chills down your spine. And pierce through your heart and soul. Those glares are deadly, I tell ya.

The door from upstairs opened, making a loud screeching noise. "Hiccup! I need your help with the baby!" Astrid shouted from the bedroom. Her holler was followed by Haldor's cry.

I groaned slightly. "Kari, stay here," I told her, although she didn't look up at me. Her attention was at the plate of food she picked at._ Yep, she's mad at me._

Facing Shadow, I ordered: "Stay with Kari." Shadow tilted her head, causing her tongue to flop out between her gums. She let out a little growl between her gums and panted.

Toothless immediately stood up the moment I did. He smiled, showing off his gums and shook his tail happily.

I patted his head. "No, bud. I need you to watch the kids," I whispered to him, looking past him. Kari was attending to her plate while Shadow watched her with a hawk's eye.

The older Night Fury groaned sadly, but he nodded.

"Thanks, bud." I scratched behind his ear.

"I'm coming, Astrid!" I called up, as I ran up the stairs as fast as I could. Again, it is difficult to run with a peg leg (if only there was a device or contraption I could come up with that could lift up a person without having to strain muscles in amputees). Getting to the top of the stairs, I found Astrid in our bedroom, with Haldor on the bed. He was still crying and Astrid was frantically looking for something. She turned around and saw me, looking relieved and frantic at the same time.

"I'm about to lose my patience, Hiccup," she grunted.

I walked into the room and went to pick up Haldor. "Did the herb not work?" I asked, Hal protesting in my arms. Siv said the numbing should have kicked in immediately.

Astrid searched through our dresser. "Yea, it worked, but then I checked if he needed changing, and guess what I found? A rash!"

"A _rash_?" I asked, dumbly.

"Yes!" Astrid insisted, "And Mom made me a remedy a few weeks ago, but I have no idea where I put it!" she explained, exasperated. For some reason, seeing her stressed reminded me of when I, too, was frantically searching for something to sooth a baby. Oh right, it was with Kari over a _freaking toy_!

_At least this cream serves a purpose, as to sooth his-_

"And I checked everywhere!" Astrid added. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "Hiccup, I thought it would be easier with a second baby, seeing we already had Kari, but this is too much for me to handle."

I walked over to her and held her arm gently. She looked behind and faced me.

"Astrid, we can do this," I told her. "We stopped a freaking war between dragons and Drago, didn't we?"

"_You_ stopped those wars," Astrid said, annoyed.

"And you _helped_," I added, quickly. "If we can unite dragons and Vikings, surely we can raise Vikings and dragons. We can get through this together, because we're Vikings."

Astrid nodded. "I guess you're right. _Once_ in a while."

"_Once_ in a while?" I repeated, smiling. "You mean I'm usually _wrong_, too?"

Astrid tried to fight a smile, but it failed. "Well, when you're _not_ being a dork."

Haldor let out a high-pitch cry. _Damnit, and I thought we were having a moment_. I sighed and looked down at the squealing baby. "This guy's getting impatient."_ Yep. Definitely a miniature Stoick,_ I mused.

"Well, he's going to have to wait," Astrid said. Her tone sounded like she was surrendering. _Oh, please don't do this, Astrid. Please don't give up._

I tried to think of possible areas where the remedy would be. Damnit, there were thousands of places, and some were less likely than the others. "Did you check the cabinet?" I asked, as I rocked Hal a little. He liked being rocked to sleep, so hopefully this would distract him from the pain.

Astrid stopped for a moment. "The one in the hallway?" she asked.

"Yea, you know the one with the blankets? It could have gotten lost when were cleaning last week for our guests from the Meanhead clan," I figured. When you get, at the last moment, a chief from a neighboring island was living at your house, you tend to throw things anywhere to look clean.

It was a start, at least.

For a moment, I thought Astrid astound to rebuff my suggestion. I mean, it was crazy, but it was the first thing I could think of. However, a look of realization crossed her face.

"My Gods, Hiccup! You're a genius!" she screamed. She ran out of the bedroom to search for the remedy.

I laughed. "What? No kiss?" I teased. Haldor cried softer than before, but it was still a painful cry on his part.

Astrid screeched happily from the hallway. I heard some thumps, indicating she was running. Suddenly, she pulled me into a hug and kissed me vigorously. Well, it wasn't too aggressive, but it had more passion behind it than most kisses lately.

"Man, I love being married to you," she breathed.

"Because I'm so handsome?" I asked.

"Well, I mean that you have something of a brain in your skull which is useful sometimes," Astrid joked. "But the handsome part... well I thank Baldr everyday for that."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say, Milady."

Astrid smacked my shoulder playfully. "How about I get this little guy set for bed and we can spend some time with Kari," she offered.

I nodded. "Yea, I feel bad we haven't spend much time with her," I admitted. With the Academy, the entire village and the baby to take of, Astrid and I have been occupied and exhausted, and haven't been with Kari as much. If we just had a couple of times a week with just her, maybe it'll help us cope with our daily errands.

_Wait, that gives me an idea._ "Maybe some nights we can have Mom watch Haldor while you, Kari and I did something together?" I offered.

Astrid thought over my proposal. "It _does_ give me an excuse to fly Stormfly... why don't we fly our dragons?" she suggested.

"Well, we'll have Kari riding in the basket and Shadow's wings are big enough to fly with Toothless and Stormfly," I reasoned.

"And maybe we can teach Kari to ride Shadow?" Astrid suggested.

_No, no, no! Bad idea!_ I immediately thought.

"Maybe not yet." I cringed. "You know how many times I almost broke a limb when I was learning to fly with Toothless?"

Astrid laughed. "You mean when you were your dorky, clumsy self?" she teased. "Because I'm sure she's got my grace."

"Yea, along with your knack for standing up on your dragon," I countered. "With your gymnastic moves and my adrenaline, we're going to deal with one _crazy_ little girl."

On that realization, Astrid and I cringed. I wasn't sure what Astrid was thinking, but it was probably around the same line as I was: Kari breaking limbs. Yea, I thought that, too, but I also imagined Kari as a reckless teenager, literally flying off Shadow's back, her green eyes gleaming with adventure and curiosity. I shook my head. It was hard imagining my little grown up, even if it was just my imagination.

"Maybe it would be best if we held out on teaching Kari how to ride Shadow," Astrid suggested. "Until she is, at least, six."

"Good idea," I agreed quickly.

Astrid took Haldor from my arms and carried him to his cradle. Sensing Astrid was about to change his undergarments, I exited myself out of the room. I walked down the stairs as quietly as I could, but the stairs squeaked underneath my peg leg.

Getting to the bottom of the stairs, I first noticed how quiet it was. I mean, there were no snarls coming from dragon not any from a peculiar toddler with red hair. Toothless sat at the bottom of the stairs, his ears tucked down. I slowly walked by him and walked to the dining room (which was right beside the stairs), where Sharpshot and Sneaky were still eating Kari's first dish.

The only problem was.. he was the only one at the table.

"Okay, Kari. That's enough playing," I played along. Obviously, Kari was playing hide and seek with Shadow. That was their favourite game to play, since both were small and could hide in tight places. "You win, kiddo. You're the winner of hide and seek!"

I didn't get any response.

Quickly, I searched throughout the entire lower level of the house. Every small place, from the kitchen cupboards to the unlit fireplace, was searched. My nerves built up as I searched the house. Gods, I was freaking out like crazy. I think my hands were beginning to sweat more than my pits.

Great, there was no sign of Kari or Shadow in the house. It would have help if she left a damned shoe or something behind, but _no_. She _had_ to pick up "neat-freak" traits. Honestly, what toddler keeps her room cleaner than her own parents? My hair began to tense up. Well, it wasn't that I wanted her to lose her things, but couldn't she have left a trail so we could find her? Or a note with a scribble or a drawing? She's good at drawing accurate pictures, and that would have been great.

I couldn't even find Beanie, and that's saying something.

I looked down at Toothless, who was still sleeping. "Bud, where's Kari and Shadow?" I asked, my voice breaking. I could feel sweat running down my neck.

Toothless tilted up his head. _How am I suppose to know? _he growled in a grumpy tone.

"I told you to watch them!" I shouted. "My Gods, do you ever listen to me?"

_I _did_ watch them_, Toothless insisted.

"No, you didn't!" I accused, "If you were, you would have not let them leave!"

_Well, I watched them walk out the doo_r, Toothless purred sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and groaned in annoyance, for the second time that day. "Thanks for the help," I deadpanned. There was no point in giving Toothless trouble. _I_ was the stupid one in leaving her in the care of a dragon. Well, technically four dragons.

Toothless stood up and nudged his head under my hand. _I'm sorry_, he purred. His eyes went big and he tried to avoid my stare. I knew what he was doing; he was trying to make me forgive him. He always looked all innocent when he felt shameful. Well, he tried to, at least. Most of the time he was successful, merely because I could not resist his adorable eyes.

"It's okay, bud. It was my fault," I told him. Smiling, I patted his head with my left hand, to which he purred against.

However, even a best friend couldn't help you feel better.

_I'm such an idiot!_ I thought to myself. The realization hit me: Kari was gone! I left her alone for a minute and she takes off! I pulled my hair in anger. Tears were forming in my eyes. I don't cry much, but this moment made me want to curse the Gods for giving me this fate. I mean, what kind of Chief loses a kid and cries about it?

My Dad would have never allowed this to happen! _He_ would have had his eyes on me all the time! If he was here now, he would have watched Kari the entire time. In fact, he would lead the entire village to find Kari! Then, he would have looked down at me with his disappointed glare, the one I'd seen for fifteen years of my life. Those years which I could never get back now, because I couldn't listen to my father.

Which my daughter was picking up on.

Yelling in frustration, I kicked the wall beside the stairs.

_Oops_. Bad idea.

The wall immediately broke from the force of my foot. Well, not my foot, exactly. More like the metal attached to my amputated leg, which now supported a foot-like support. The worst part? It was _stuck_ in the damn hole. And now I'm standing near the stairs with tears running down my face and stuck in a hole.

Yea, not one of my finest moment.

I heard the stairs creak. "Hiccup, what's the matter?" Astrid asked from the top of the stairs. From the tone of her voice, she sounded concerned. _Oh, Odin help me._

Grunting, I forced my foot out of the hole and wiped my face. Looking up the stairs, I tried to mask my true worry. "Everything's fine, Astrid." Even I could tell it was a lie the moment it left my mouth. My voice had went higher than usual which always gave away to Astrid that I was lying.

The blonde viking didn't look convinced. She walked down the rest of the stairs and stopped right in front of me. Folding her arms over her chest, she asked, "Where's our daughter, then?"

_Wow, I wish Thor would strike me dead at this moment_. "Well...uh..." I delayed, scratching the back of my head nervously. "You see... I sort of..." Every time if tried to say something, I faced Astrid's deadly glare. _The same glare our daughter inherited._

I sighed. There was no point in lying to Astrid. "They ran away."

**To be continued...**


	6. Lost and Found

**_Man, I left a bad cliffhanger there, didn't I? XD_**

**_Do not fret, I have "Part 2" here! :D And it's a long one XD_**

**_I'm open for requests/ideas, if you'd like to submit them :)_**

**_I do not own HTTYD. It belongs to Cassandra Crowell and Dreamworks._**

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_"For there is nothing lost, that may be found, if sought."_

Edmund Spenser.

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**Lost and Found**

_Right after "Terrible Twos"..._

If I had the choice to either face the Red Death together and lose more limbs, or hear Astrid's response to the news that our daughter ran away with her dragon...

I would definitely chose the Red Death.

"WHAT!?"

I held out my hands in defense. "It's okay, it's okay! We'll find her."

Astrid's face reddened with anger and I could have sworn her eyes burst in flames. "You want me to remain calm while Kari is out there alone?!"

"Technically, she has Shadow with her-" I tried to point out.

Astrid immediately jumped off the stairs, shoving past me aggressively, and ran out the front door. "Kari! Kari, come on in!" she called out. I heard her move around the house, yelling "Kari Rowan, come inside!". However, there was no answer.

_Damnit_. I followed Astrid outside, which was beginning to get dark. Toothless had followed me outside. The sky was black with the sun setting in the west. Villagers had begun to send in their dragons into their pens and children were coming in for dinner. A few sheep roamed the grounds, almost relieved that the dragons were going to bed.

No sign of Kari nor a baby Night Fury.

I heard something. I turned my head. It was coming from Stormfly's house, which was just a few steps away from our house. I followed the sound, which I figured was a whimper, to inside the house. Toothless, as always, followed close beside me.

I pressed open the door to find a rare sight.

Astrid was crying.

Stormfly nuzzled her head in Astrid's arms, humming to the beat of Astrid's tears. What I was looking at was more than just a viking with her dragon. This was Astrid. Strong, fearless, aggressive and bold Astrid, who was the best fighter in our generation. Nothing could stop her fire, or ever light it out. Her passion was a constant flame, and that was one of the reasons I fell in love with her.

Seeing her now... well, I was frightened. And most of the time, I feared her punches. However, her broken spirit was worse than her blows. Emotionally, I mean.

Slowly, I walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched slightly, but didn't pull away from my touch. Feeling it was safe to do so, I slid my arm around her shoulder and squeezed her closer to me.

"Dont blame yourself. We'll find her," I told her.

She sniffed. "I know... I just feel like it's my fault."

"Astrid, if it's anyone's fault, it's mine." I squeezed her shoulder. "Besides, Mom will help us, and so will the others." Others, I meant Fishlegs, the twins, Eret, Snolout and Gobber.

Astrid wiped her face. "Okay, okay." Then, she punched me in the shoulder.

"_Hey_! What was _that_ for?" I asked, rubbing my shoulder.

"Dont you _dare_ tell anyone about this," she warned. I think she was referring to her crying. I get it: she hates showing weakness, and she's always been like that.

She took Stormfly out of the barn and mounted her. I followed her out. "I'm going to check the lower levels. She couldn't have gotten far."

"Alright. I'll head over to Mom's." I was about to mount Toothless when I remembered. "Wait, what about the baby?" He was just put to bed and I couldn't just leave him. There was no way in Hel I was leaving him alone with two Terrible Terrors: I learned my lesson.

"Bring him with you!" Astrid shouted, as Stromfly began to flap his wings.

I sighed. "Fine, but don't yell at me if-"

"_C'mon_, Hiccup!"

I immediately ran inside and up the stairs as fast as I could. Going into Hal's room, I scooped him out of his cradle and gently placed him into his basket. Praying to the Gods that he didn't wake up, I whisked the basket on my back. I secured his basket on and walked back down the stairs (I didn't want to risk waking him up). Sneaky and Sharpshot were still at the table and were eating Kari's remaining food.

"Stay!" I ordered them. They looked up at me and growled simultaneously. I only figured they understood.

I closed the door behind me and I gently got on Toothless' back. Hal cooed in his sleep as I switched my leg to hook to the side pedal. Patting Toothless' neck, he purred lightly and flapped his wings. He hovered slightly above the buildings, as he looked down at the ground.

"To Mom's, Toothless," I whispered. The Night Fury nodded and headed for the Dragon Academy.

Mom had decided to set up her house by the Dragon Academy so she could be close to her job, and set up private lessons, if anyone desired them. I believed it was a great idea: she could still be her feral, diligent, dragon-lady self and live within our society.

Toothless spotted Cloudjumper in his pen and growled happily. He dived down slightly and lowered down himself to the Stormcutter. I hopped off, changing my leg, and walked up to the door. At the front porch, I gave the door a good loud knock. Toothless playfully pawed at Cloudjumper, who sighed in annoyance, but played with him nevertheless.

Less than ten seconds later, Mom opened the door. The moment she saw me, her expression went from happiness to quick confusion.

"Hiccup?" Mom asked.

"Have you seen Kari?" I asked, desperately. I wanted to get to the point so I wasn't wasting any time. "She ran away with Shadow, and we can't find her!"

Mom's eyes widened. "She ran away?" she repeated in disbelief. "Why?"

I gulped. "I don't know. I left her alone with Shadow for a second and when I get back, she's gone."

Mom nodded, in understanding. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. I haven't seen her." I felt a punch in my chest, a worse feeling than Astrid's punch. Mom walked past me and called Cloudjumper to her. "We will help you find them, Hiccup."

I sighed in relief. The more of us looking for Kari, the better chance we have in finding her. "Thanks, Mom." I took Hal's basket off me and handed the sleeping baby to her. "Mind taking the rascal with you?" I asked.

Mom merely accepted Hal and threw the basket on her back. "Whoa, he's getting big, isn't he?" she joked.

I nodded, and hopped back on Toothless' saddle. Cloudjumper helped Mom and Hal to his back using his hooked wing to pick her up. Valka mounted Cloudjumper and they both headed back to the village. I quickly followed behind.

"I'm going to wake up Gobber and the others," I told Mom, once Toothless and I had caught up to Cloudjumper.

Mom nodded in agreement. "I shall check the neighboring islands, in case she decided to practice riding."

"You do realize she has never rode a dragon by herself," I reminded her.

"And all those times you took her flying to Itchy Armpit and Horrendous Island you didn't leave her on Toothless to glide beside him?" Mom questioned.

I rolled my eyes. "That was different. She was under adult supervision."

Mom laughed. "Oh, son. You _may_ be a dad, but you are still a child at heart."

"Very funny," I replied, deadpanned. Despite my annoyance, I really enjoyed Mom's company. Although I only knew her for almost five years now, I feel as though she has been with me my whole life. She may not have physically been with me for twenty years, but I'm glad Kari is spending time with her.

Toothless and I flew to the village, while Mom flew with Cloudjumper and Haldor to the smaller islands. She was flying to the left of Berk, right near Raven's Point. Why she would think a toddler could ride all the way to Raven's Point, I have no idea.

I patted Toothless. "Let's go, bud." The Night Fury nodded and we took off back into Berk.

Over the next hour, Toothless and I rounded up the members of the Council. We first stopped off at Snotlout's house, who was not happy his dinner was interrupted, but was forced by Siv to help. Next, we woke up Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Eret. Fishlegs went for the woods with Meatlug, Tuff and Ruff checked the docks with Barf and Belch and Eret and Skullcrusher searched the tunnels under Berk. As for Snotlout, he and Hookfang checked the beachs.

Hours passed and there was no sign of Kari or Shadow.

Half of the village woke up, after the twins began fighting again. Which was good, in a way: each neighboring island searched from the smallest twig to the biggest tree (why they were fighting, I still have no idea). However, it was close to midnight and we hadn't found any clue of Kari's whereabouts.

I must have missed something. Usually, I was very intuitive of Kari's feelings and thoughts. I reckon it is because Kari and I are similar in personality. She had a strong connection with dragons and a free spirit like I did. Chuckling, I thought: _And a short attention span._

Thinking about Kari pained me, like a constant punch to the chest or a kick to the groin. Every time I thought about her, all I saw was her adorable freckled-face with her red hair in a braid and her green eyes sparkling. _She must be so scared, and who knows what's out there._

However, for the past few months, I felt a... drift between us. She gave me a lot of attitude over the smallest things (then again, she's a toddler), but she was worse with Astrid. I mean, it could have been from Chief-work and not being able to fly with her to any of the islands as much as before Haldor was born...

Wait...

Could she-

But, she couldn't have-

"Toothless! We're going to Itchy Armpit!" I told him.

The Night Fury growled and we took off from the island. A voice in the back of my head told me I should let Astrid or someone know of my plan, but I had to do this quickly. If I hesitated, I was going to back out of it. I'm just lucky it only takes fifteen minutes to fly across the Arpelgilio to Itchy Armpit.

The wind was bad. I was even having a difficult time holding on Toothless. I will admit, I became more worried as we flew to the far island. I mean, if I'm having difficulty flying through the midnight winds. Not to mention we were flying over freaking ice-cold deep ocean! Suddenly, a horrifying thought crossed my mind: what if Kari and Shadow fell-

_No, don't think about that!_

Toothless moaned._ So, why are we going to Itchy Armpit in the middle of the night?_

I ignored the sarcastic comment. Why I took it upon myself to learn the language of the dragons, I cannot remember. All I've gotten was remarks and complaints from my "Unholy Offspring of Lighting and Death Itself". As for Shadow, she hasn't really 'spoken' yet. Probably because she's still a baby.

It was soon that we got to Itchy Armpit. The familiar woods I grew accustomed to visiting for almost five years were ruffling in the cold wind. Even the stars shined bright in the black open sky. There were roars heard up head, which I assumed came from the wild Timberjacks. _Crap, hope they won't notice Kari there... _if_she's here..._

Toothless landed quietly on the ground. Thinking quickly, I took out Inferno and ignited it, using it as a light.

"Kari! Kari, where are you?" I called out. Toothless roared in response.

We walked around on foot for a few minutes, checking near the roots of the trees and the rocks sticking up from the ground. From what I noticed in my right leg, there was some mud on the ground. Curiously, I pointed the sword to the ground.

There were footprints on the ground.

And they were close together, like they led into each other. They were circular as well, almost like Toothless' footprints. Could Shadow have been walking around? However, I didn't see Kari's boot prints. Maybe she was riding Shadow...

_That kid is in _so_ much trouble._ "Kari! Kari!" I shouted. Toothless and I called out for Kari and Shadow as we followed the footprints. As we walked, the footprints began to incline with the hill. With the inclination, the footprints began to disappear. Worried, I began to look up in the trees.

After what seemed like hours, I sat down for a minute in exhaustion. You thought climbing stairs was difficult with a peg leg... try walking miles with one. I ran a hand through my hair to relax myself, which was slightly longer since confronting Drago (I've cut it a little). My hand got caught in the two braids in my hair, which was joined with a newer third braid. The last one was made by Kari.

_I'm a failure_.

Now I felt like Astrid did a few hours ago: helpless, weak, stupid...

A terrible parent.

It took ever ounce of me not to cry again, but the tears in my eyes escaped. How was I suppose to go back to Berk empty-handed? No, I was not going back until I had Kari in her mother's arms. Honestly, I want Kari in my arms as well, but Astrid needed the satisfaction of having her daughter with her. _Alive_.

"Daddy cwying?"

My head shot up. Looking around, I tried to find the source of those words. Only... the only being near me was my Night Fury.

"Toothless... did you call me Daddy?" I asked, a little worried. Toothless tilted his head in confusion. Then, we both heard a twig snap from above us. We looked up at the tree in unison.

There, on a thick branch, was a toothless Night Fury smiling down at us with a red-headed little Viking on her back, holding a toy in her hand.

My entire being broke and exploded and everything, especially my face. Fresh tears ran down my face and streamed down to my beard. "Kari! My Gods, you're okay!" I exclaimed.

Kari tilted her head. "Why Daddy sad?" she asked.

I forgot my face was covered in tears. Chuckling, I wiped them off. "Daddy's just happy to see you," I explained. Well, I was initially crying because I ought my daughter was gone. Wait- "Kari Rowan, you get down there this instant," I ordered.

Kari tapped Shadow's shoulder. The hatchling opened her wings and she landed softly on the ground. I immediately picked up Kari, whose face was covered in fear. She must have thought I was going to give her trouble.

Instead, I gave her the biggest hug I've ever given her.

This moment, right now, was precious. I thought I had lost my baby girl. Now, she was safe in my arms, covered in dirt and a fresh batch of wet tears from my face. All I wanted to do gas to just hold her close to me and never let go. I forgot about everything for a moment. Right now, all I cared about was Kari.

"Never run away again, Kari. You gave your poor mother a heart attack," I told her.

Kari pulled away from me to look at me, Beanie in her right arm. She placed her left hand on my bearded face. "Daddy sad again?" she asked.

I couldn't help but lean into my daughter's hand, as I did when Mom first caressed my face. "Daddy's happy," I explained. "I thought I lost you."

Kari pointed to Shadow, who was being mauled by Toothless' licks and playful nature. "Shadow fly to Itshe Awmpit."

"I see, but why did you not tell Mommy or Daddy?" I asked.

Kari shrugged. "Shadow no... no like..."

I immediately caught on to what she was saying. "She doesn't like the baby?" I asked. Kari hesitated, but she nodded, letting go of my face.

I knew Kari used Shadow as a base to tell her true feelings. She would say things like "_Shadow no like fish_" or "_Shadow like play_", which we grew accustomed to. However, I will admit I was shocked Kari would say (indirectly) she didn't like Haldor. Sure, Kari acted out a bit, as expected, but she never said anything against Haldor. Did she truly not like this transition of a new baby?

"Why don't you like the baby?" I asked.

The toddler's green eyes began to fill with tears. "Mommy and Daddy... no love... Kar-Shadow..." she said between sobs. "Like... baby...more!"

I sighed sadly. I never realized the emotional toll this new-baby-transition it must have had on her. "Oh... Kar, that's not true. Mommy and Daddy love you just as much as Haldor," I explained. Slowly, I rubbed Kari's back to soothe her. It did help; her sobs calmed down, although tears covered her face.

"Why don't we go home and see Mommy?" I offered. Kari placed her thumb in her mouth and suckled it before she nodded in agreement.

Gently, I mounted Toothless and held Kari in my arms. The Night Fury spread his wings and took off, with Shadow right behind him.

As we flew across the ocean, I couldn't help but look over at Shadow. She stayed steadily beside Toothless. How she managed to fly all the way from Berk with a toddler on her back baffled me. She wasn't much bigger than a Terrible Terror and her wings were ginormous compared to her.

I glanced down at Kari, who was sound asleep in my arms. Hopefully Astrid won't wake her up when we get back to Berk. I don't want Kari to cry again in fright.

I tried not to think the entire way there (man, wouldn't Astrid be surprised). The wind blew quiet and the night sky was lighting a little. Was it almost morning already? Time sure flies by when you're looking for your two-year old daughter at night.

Before I knew it, we were back at Berk.

I spotted Stormfly at our house, with Astrid sitting on the step beside her. The other Vikings seemed to have left already and gone back to bed. Maybe they figured it was a lost cause. I don't know... some of the Vikings were happy Hal was born (and hinted how big he was, almost chief-like). I did my best to ignore those comment.

"Astrid!" I called, as the dragons and I flew closer to the ground.

The blonde Viking shot her head up and smiled slightly at the sight of me. "Hey..." she greeted, wearily. She stood up and came over and walked over to Toothless.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"You tell me," I grinned, showing Astrid Kari in my arms.

For a moment, Astrid didn't move. It was though she thought she was dreaming or seeing an angel. Suddenly, she took Kari out of my arms and covered the toddler in kisses and right hugs.

Kari stirred a little. Her green eyes opened slightly and stared at Astrid. "Mommy?" she asked.

"My Gods, you're okay!" Astrid laughed, tears running down her face.

Kari touched Astrid's cheek. "Happy cry?" she asked. Astrid wiped her eyes. I smiled at her reaction; it was just like mine.

"Of course, Kari. I thought you were gone!" Astrid exclaimed, which was followed by extra kisses.

"Mommy love Kar?" the toddler asked, almost in a questioning tone. I swear, she was brilliant for her age, and I prayed she'll keep her intuitive nature later in her life.

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "Of course Mommy loves Kari, why would you think eitherwise?"

I coughed. "_Someone_ is under the impression that we love the baby more than her," I whispered through my teeth. I realized I was pacing a little and I swung my arms awkwardly, a habit I picked up as a kid.

The blonde viking immediately caught on. "Kar, Mommy loves you very much. A new baby will never change that."

Kari nodded. "Why... Hal... " she fumbled, "...why... Daddy and Mommy... have Hal... and no me?" she asked.

It took me a minute to figure out what she was asking. And another to realize I was about to say another "Dad" speech. "Kari, no matter what, I will always love you. Mommy will as well. You are so special."

Kari smiled a little. "Me?" she asked.

"Yes, because you were our first baby," I told her. "If you haven't been born, I wouldn't be a dad. And Mommy wouldn't be a mom."

"It's true," Astrid agreed.

"And now we have two special babies, because Hal is your brother, and you are his big sister."

"Big... sith-ter?" Kari repeated.

"It means you are bigger and older than him," I explained. Kari seemed to not fully understand, so I decided to try another approach. "He is lucky to have a big sister. He'll need someone to watch over him and make sure he never gets hurt." I patted her shoulder. "Can you help keep him safe for us?"

"Kari... keep Hal safe?" Kari asked.

I nodded. "Like Shadow and Beanie. They keep you safe, right?"

Kari nodded with a larger smile. "Scare bad dweams."

"So you can do that for Hal," I suggested.

Kari nodded. She looked down at Beanie with a concentrated look. The same look she inherited from Astrid, when she concentrates.

"Where... Hal?" she asked.

Astrid pointed to the house. "He's sleeping inside."

"Wanna... see him," Kari decided. She pushed Astrid away a little and struggled to the ground. Once Astrid caught on and placed Kari down, the toddler waddled herself to the house. Astrid and I, and Shadow and Toothless, followed Kari inside.

We found Kari working her way up the stairs, Beanie in her hands. Astrid followed Kari right behind her, in case she slipped down the stairs. Shadow pushed under my feet to follow Kari. Toothless looked up at me curiously and pushed his head against my hand._I know, bud. I'm confused, too._

Kari quietly pushed the door to our bedroom and trotted inside. Astrid and I looked at each other with confusion on our faces: why was Kari wanting to see Haldor? The toddler stood up in her tiptoes o reach up to see Hal sleeping in his cradle. She held Beanie in her left hand and look back at Astrid and I.

"Hal no have Beanie," she told us.

"Kiddo, Beanie is yours," I reminded her.

Kari shook her head and held up her toy. "Hal no have Beanie," she emphasized. She looked up at Haldor and did something... incredible:

She gave Haldor her Beanie.

This was Kari's prized possession. I mean, Kari couldn't fall asleep without the dang thing at four months old. The only thing that stopped her from crying was Toothless. Even up to a couple months ago Kari couldn't sleep without Beanie. That toy was the only reason I lost sleep since she was born and now she was giving it to her brother.

Yet, it was the most adorable moment I've ever seen. Kari definitely was putting away her jealousy by giving Hal her favourite toy. Did she truly comprehend Astrid and I's conversation? I knew she was smart, but I didn't realize she could comprehend something like this at her age.

"I wuv you Hal," Kari whispered.

Astrid and I smiled. To think we were worried about having two kids a few months ago.

"I think we're masters at this whole 'parenting' thing," I boasted, wrapping my arm around Astrid's shoulders.

Astrid nodded. "I'll admit, we did a good job." She looked up at me. "Just promise me no more kids until Hal's out of diapers," she warned.

"Good idea," I gulped, causing Astrid to chuckle. "I don't want a repeat of tonight."

"But we have her back," Astrid reminded me. I nodded in agreement.

Our daughter was found, and that's all that mattered.

**To be continued...**


	7. Keeping the Nightmares Away

_**Hi, guys. Thanks for the amazing feedback for chapter five :)**_

_**Since school's starting soon, I'll have less time to update. I may have a chapter up around October, but I'm not making any promises :(.**_

_**I will try hard to have another chapter up after this, before I get too busy.**_

_**Also, I was thinking of doing a story about Kari (in her point of view), but I'm not sure. It mostly deals with her growing up and it will tie with this story (and I'm likely to jump back and forth with this, so this is definitely not over). **_

_**Please review and I do not own HTTYD.**_

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_"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."_

Albus Dumbledore.

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**Keeping the Nightmares Away**

_The sky was darkening with smoke from fires that blared in the distance. The smoke blurred my vision and I could hardly see anything. However, a noise was heard. It sounded like someone was struggling. I waved my hands, hopefully, to dissemble the smoke away._

_Then I saw it: Toothless skating his head and growling in pain and angst. He kept stomping the ground and didn't seem to see me._

_"Toothless? Toothless, you okay bud? What's going on?" I asked._

_A man, all too familiar-looking, stomped his way over to me. His eyes were black as his soul and he wore a drape of dragon skin over his prosthetic arm. In his left hand, he held a staff and had it pointed at Toothless. Behind him, the Bewilderbeast glared down at us._

_"Witness true strength of will over others- In the face of it, you are nothing."_

_Toothless tried to resist looking at the Alpha, but the beast's eyes twitched. The Night Fury continued to shake his head, in order to break from the Alpha's control. Suddenly, he stopped shaking and lifted his head. Slowly, he looked over to me._

_"Uhhh... what did he just tell you?" I asked._

_Toothless' pupils were thin. Thinner than they have ever been. The thick pupils which were usually focused and fun and adorable... they were gone. Toothless wasn't there anymore. _

_The Night growled and made his way over to me._

_I tried to get Toothless' attention away from the Alpha. "Toothless, c'mon! What's the matter with you?" _

_The dragon hissed. He showed his retracted fangs, his mouth forming with plasma._

_"No, no, no, what are you doing? Knock it off!" I ordered, backing away from him. I knew now what the Alpha ordered to do: kill me. "Stop!"_

_ "Snap out of it!" I pleaded, holding my hand out. How could my best friend do this?_

_The Night Fury advanced closer to me. I backed away, but found myself up against ice, surrounded and trapped my the Alpha's ice contraption. I was finished.  
_

_"Toothless, no!" _

_The Night Fury opened his mouth, ready to fire._

_"Toothless! No-"_

_"HICCUP!" I heard from the distance._

_"STOP!" I ordered once more, hearing the iconic plasma sound firing up._

_"SON!" _

_I looked over and saw an older Viking with a red beard and thick build run toward me. Without thinking, I held out my left hand to him. "Dad, No!" I screeched._

_The Night Fury fired and hit it's target._

_The scene suddenly changed. I was no longer hidden under ice or plasma blast. I found myself on Berk, the houses burnt to a crisp. Bodies laid all around me, looking dead into the night, no life in their eyes. First, there were my friends and fellow dragon riders: Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Eret. Then, as I walked, Mom laid dead beside Dad. Closer, and I found Astrid looking up at me with a blank look in her eyes._

_Toothless laid nearby in a puddle of blood, his saddle and fin broken. His eyes were open, but there were hollow and empty. There was no life, no happiness in them. It took all of my strength to keep myself from collapsing underneath my foot and peg leg. Instead, I kneeled to my best friend._

_"Daddy!"_

_I turned around. Two children were holding hands and appeared scared. One was a girl with red hair, a maroon shirt and fur boots and vest. The other, a boy, with brown hair like mine wore a brown shirt with fur boots._

_"It's okay. Daddy's here."_

_Kari's green eyes lit with fear. "You aren't my Daddy."_

_"Kiddo, what are you talking about? I am!" I insisted._

_"Why would you kill every-won?" Haldor asked, his blue eyes filled with tears._

_I looked down. Instead of flesh hands, one hand was sliver, both covered in blood. I felt my heart beat faster. Only one person I knew had a prosthetic arm like this. I turned around and saw that Toothless was gone. The man smirked in triumph._

_Drago Bludvist._

_"See? Even the great Dragon Master can be kept in control of the Alpha."_

_The Bewilderbeast pursed his controlling eyes at me. **Kill them**, he ordered._

_No! I _won't_!_

**_You can _never_ resist me. You are MINE__ now!_**

I opened my eyes, dazed and confused. I was no longer surrounded by ice or coldness. Instead, it was dark out and Astrid snored beside me. So that meant I was in bed with Astrid. Astrid was alive. She was here, with her swollen belly, her beautiful hair, her aggressive personality which resulted in most of my daily injuries. She was here, and that was all that mattered.

Once in a while, I have nightmares. Yes, adults get nightmares, too. The only thing is... the same one runs through my head. Over and over. And I end up waking up in the night, not able to fall asleep again.

Astrid usually helped me, by sitting and talking with me. The only problem was that she was six months pregnant with twins and needed her sleep. Gothi insisted Astrid get as much sleep as possible before the twins were born, because taking care of twins would be twice the trouble. Even Siv agreed it would benefit in the future (although she doesn't have twins herself).

Trying to control my breathing, I allowed myself to calm down. It was hard: the images of Drago, the dead bodies and the Bewilderbeast kept entering my mind. Every breath was harder than the last; I felt like I ran around the entire island. My chest hurt the most. Not just my lungs, but in my beating heart.

My legs moved before I could think. I found myself getting off the bed and throwing on a loose shirt. My hair... covered in my sweat. Was I turning in my sleep? I couldn't tell. Once I pulled my shirt over my head, I creeped down the stairs quietly. I couldn't risk waking Astrid, Haldor or Kari. Even worse, the dragons.

The winter air blew in my face like the wind while flying. It stabbed my face with little knives, but it was refreshing for my heated body. I sat myself on the front step and looked over Berk. Night was silent, not including the whistling in the trees and the fear trolls were watching your every move.

Okay. Maybe not trolls, but fear did lurk around every corner, waiting for your weakest moment and ready to pounce at you. The feeling you'll never be happy again. Nightmares were like that, I guess. The Gods' form of punishment by making you relive your worst memories, your worst fears. Your worst decisions.

The night was a good representation of nightmares. You feel... secluded from the world. Well, I was always secluded from the rest of Berk, simply because I was different. So, in a way, my night was in the day. It followed me everywhere.

My thoughts prevented me to use my senses to notice I was joined by another. Someone came and sat beside me, trying to stay quiet. It worked, I guess; I hardly noticed they were beside me until I heard:

"Daddy, are you okay?"

I knew who the voice belonged to before even thinking twice: Kari, my five-year old daughter. Her vocabulary increased significantly over the past couple of years, including her intuitive nature. Which makes it harder for Astrid and I to keep her in the dark of certain subjects of discussions. For example, she immediately caught on four months ago that Astrid and I were trying to keep the pregnancy on the "down low" until we figured out how to tell her and Haldor.

I didn't look at Kari. I couldn't dare to. I didn't want her to see me like this. She didn't deserve it.

"Daddy's..." I couldn't even say one word without crying. My voice was breaking. "Daddy's okay." It sounded pitiful. It didn't help some tears fell down my cheeks.

Kari grabbed my hand, forcing me to look up at her. Her red hair was tied in a braid, as usual, and was wearing her sleeping attire, which was maroon red. Shadow sat beside her, always following her. Kari probably saw the tears on my face, and the redness in my eyes. Oh Gods, what would Kari think of me? She thought I was this brave man who could overcome anything. I knew because she told me.

"Why are you crying, Daddy?" she asked, innocently.

I wiped my tears. "No reason, Kari. Go back to sleep."

Kari merely sat beside me. Shadow purred against her. "I have bad dreams about the bad man, too."

"Bad man?" I asked.

"He is big and tall and scary. He is mean to dragons and makes them do bad things."

I could not dare to confirm her nightmare. She described the monster perfectly. The monster who controlled and abused dragons. The monster who was the cause of my father's death and my best friend's actions. The fact that a man like that could turn a dragon, especially an intelligent one like Toothless, into a monster scared me.

"He seems like a bad person," I muttered.

Kari nodded. "He tells me he's going to take Shadow away from me." She looked at Shadow. "Then I wake up and go to your bed."

I smiled. It was true, when she had nightmares, she would just crawl into bed without a word. She only explained her nightmares when she wanted to. Rarely did she have nightmares, but when she did, they weren't childish nightmares. They were almost like memories of the past and visions of the future.

"The bad man has an arm like your leg."

"He _does_?" I asked. For a moment, I was nervous she would see the similarities between Drago and I: we both lost a limb to a dragon, we trained dragons, and we had loved ones taken from us.

"Yea. It's not real." Kari smiled. "But I like yours better."

My smile grew a bit. Her innocence and intelligence _did_ baffle me sometimes.

"Did the bad man take away your daddy?" Kari asked.

I tried to swallow, but it was hard. What could I say? How could I explain to my five-year old daughter I was still devastated about Dad's death? That I still cry myself to sleep?

I could only nod in response.

Kari reached over and grabbed my other hand and pulled. Without thinking, I let her guide me... to wherever she was taking me. The late night prevented me from seeing properly, and I was sure I would bump or trip over anything. I decided to rely on Kari's guidance and judgement, along with my hearing, in order to overcome my loss of sight.

Shadow thumped her head against my legs, to get me to move. She had some weight to her, so she pushed me with some force. Deciding not to anger the dragon, I followed Kari through the house and up the stairs.

Kari stopped at the top of the stairs. She looked up to me and held a finger to her lips. At least, I thought she did. It was quite difficult to see in the dark. I nodded back, as I heard Astrid snoring loudly. We were definitely at the door to Astrid and I's bedroom. Kari pulled me again and we walked a few meters, trying hard not to squeak the old boards beneath us.

She walked over to her bed and backed me to it. I didn't know if she could see the look on my face, but I gave her a look of confusion and disbelief.

"Your bed is a little tiny."

I mean, I was longer than the bed. I would have had both legs sticking out.

Kari whispered, "I don't want to wake up Mommy and Hal."

I sighed. I couldn't exactly argue with her. So I crouched myself in her bed, and found I was right: my feet did stick out at the end. Not to mention the wood frame was uncomfortable. There was no way I was sleeping well that night. I ended up just looking at the ceiling, and Kari snuggled closer to me, my left arm wrapped around her.

"It's okay, kiddo."

We didn't speak for a few minutes. The winter wind blew in the night sky, rustling the trees and blowing against the mountains. It was calming; we Hairy Hooligans grew up listening to those sounds all our lives. It was a sign Odin was protecting us from the frost giants.

Kari shifted slightly. "Daddy, did your Dad sleep with you when you had bad dreams?" She asked.

I shrugged. "More when I was little. As I got older, he stopped."

"Why?" she pushed.

_That_ stumped me for a moment. "I don't think fathers do things like that with their sons." I wasn't sure if that was the answer she was looking for, but I honestly didn't know. Dad _did_ stop offering me into his bed when I had nightmares as I got older. I think I was ten when he officially stopped.

I felt Kari move her head, as to nod in understanding. "Oh."

We were both quiet, for a while. Shadow's snoring could be heard from beside Kari's bed on the floor. How Kari managed to sleep through her snoring, and vice versa, I don't know. Even Toothless doesn't snore as loudly as Shadow, but I guess snoring depends on the dragon.

"Daddy?" Kari whispered.

"Yea?"

"Was Grandpa Stoick brave?"

I smiled in the darkness. "The braviest man I ever knew, Kari."

"Is that why Hal was named after him?"

Come to think of it, Astrid and I named him Haldor Stoick because... he was born on Dad's birthday. Man, that day was painful; naming him after Dad helped with the pain, though. "Maybe. It also sounds good with Haldor."

It drew my attention that Kari was speaking positive about Stoick. Well, she was asking questions about Dad, which were positive. I smiled. Dad truly was the bravest man I ever knew. He sacrificed his life for me, even though he found Mom again merely an hour before. He was brave, fearless, compassionate... qualities I hope Kari and Haldor will inherit; or, at least try. That's what I do.

"Yea." Kari shifted slightly. "Dad?"

I chuckled. "Yes?"

"Do dragons have bad dreams?"

"Toothless does." Sometimes, my best friend kicks in the night and once almost plasma blasted the entire house down in flames. I think he dreamt of Stoick's death, too, and had to relive waking up suddenly and realizing what he did. Not that I blame him, of course, but I was still angry at him at that moment. Now... I know there are people out there who will control dragons out of fear, and have them commit terrible crimes.

"Do you help him?" she asked. Man, she was inquisit tonight, wasn't she?

"Once or twice." I tell him that everything was going to be okay, and that there was always light in the dark. I had to be there for him, to keep his nightmares away. If I didn't, who would?

Kari yawned. "It's sad he doesn't have a daddy to scare his bad dreams away."

"Yea."

"Is Toothless happy there is another Night Fury?"

"I think he is."

"Okay." Kari yawned once more. "Dad?"

"Yes, Kari?"

"I love you."

I kissed Kari's head gently. "I love you too, kiddo."

I slept well for the rest of the night, although Kari kept me up most of the time with her constant questions and Shadow's obnoxious snores. The dark winter night blew its chilling winds against the trees, but I was warm in the tiny bed I laid in beside my daughter. In a way, I was grateful; she distracted me from my nightmares.

When she was younger, she did have nightmares. She would always crawl into Astrid and I's bed and just sleep between us. Sometimes, I asked her what she dreamt about, but I never got an answer. So, I told her what Dad told me: there is always light in the dark. Whether that light was a single person or a glimmer of hope, there will always be light.

Berk is our home. Now, it's not much; it's beat up from hundred of battles and distastful food. The Vikings who live there are even more so. The vast lands are covered in ice and snow for most of the year and covered in hail for the rest. We grow up alongside dragons, the beasts of Hel from our bedtime stories. There is much darkness in the winters and long nights, and loved ones we lose along the way. We hold onto hope for a better future. We hold onto hope to fight off our fears and nightmares.

It was good to know I have a daughter who was good at keeping the nightmares away.

_**To be continued...**_


	8. Past and Future

_**So, I'm back with another chapter :) I finally found a bit of time out of my schedule, so yea!  
**_

_**I would like to give credit and dedicate this chapter to John Mccalistar, who offered the idea and guidelines of this chapter. If you don't know who John is, he is an incredible author and has written of the best fanfics in the HTTYD fandom, called "Draco ex Machina". Check it out, it's absolutely stunning!**_

_** Thank you John for the amazing help :) And thank you all for the amazing support :)  
**_

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"_We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future."_

Franklin D. Roosevelt_._

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**Past and Future**

With every generation, there is always something changing. This is the nature of anything in life: new mountains of snow arrive every year, then it melts and comes back in a few months, the snowfall thickening with every new snow-fall. The same can be said with Vikings and dragons: each new generation presents a new beginning, opportunity and challenges. Even stubborn Vikings change, which mainly owes it to me, where an entire island of Vikings went from dragon-killers to dragon-riders overnight. Since then, we haven't needed to train for dragon-killing, and children no longer gloried that one day, they soon would kill their own dragon and finally gain acceptance to the Hairy Hooligans.

I guess, as we grow older, we tend to forget how innocent children truly are. Their minds cannot comprehend the difficulties of adulthood at such a young age. On Berk, children are pushed at a young age to become vicious and dragon-killers. However, since dragons moved in, we no longer teach them to kill, but we still teach them to fight. Yet, we have not faced war in a while; even Dagur the Deranged seemed to be on his best behavior, which was a first; he was usually trying to get us to help trap dragons, or something, despite the treaty-signing we still do.

Thinking of the treaty-signing made me think of how life was before the dragons moved in on Berk. How time back then seemed darker, but there was a little glimmer of light in it. Well, for me, at least. I think that "light" was simply my subconscious telling me that I would finally be accepted by my father. At the time, I thought the thing I had to do was kill a dragon. How we killed each other-no, _slaughtered_- for years.

The thought of the past caught me off guard. Sometimes, I feel vulnerable and cannot stand anymore, simply from the past literally hitting me across the chest. This happened quite often, and I had previously questioned Gothi about this, but all she told me was that the past literally can hurt us, and we need to learn not to ignore it, but to face it head on. Then again, she told me this years ago, which lead me to enforce some rules with the dragon-riding and dragon-racing, placing restrictions on who and when a Viking can own and fly a dragon.

Today, I found the spasms returning, so I excused myself from the table, causing Astrid to pull me aside (which I told her not to worry), and I walked out side. I sat down on the doorstep, watching the afternoon sun shine down on Berk.

For once, I wasn't pulled into some dumb meeting as Chief or I didn't have to travel overseas to meet up with the neighboring chiefs. I wasn't playing any part, or putting on a face. I was just Hiccup.

The front door creaked open and I felt a push against my back. Looking behind me, I found my ugly beast of a best friend.

Toothless nudged his head around my arm and purred beside me. His harness clattered as he wiggled in excitement._ Play with me!_

I scratched behind his ears. "C'mon, bud. This is my day off. I've not had a quiet day in months."

The stubborn Night Fury groaned in annoyance. _Fine, but you don't know what you're missing..._

"Trust me, bud," I called to him as he waddled away down the hill," I'm perfectly happy sitting here."

Stubbornly, he groaned and sat right on the pathway and moved his jaw line up and down, mocking me. Well, he tried to. When I did not respond, he rolled his eyes and curled up into a ball. After a few minutes, he grew bored and he began to chase his own tail as some children giggled. They were probably eight, nine years old, and all were holding sticks. One of them, a boy, was beefier than the others, and laughed the loudest as Toothless caught his fin in his gummy mouth. The Night Fury seemed impressed with himself that he completed such a task.

I smiled. Children, including dragons, were innocent.

The door creaked open again.

"Daddy, what's Toothless doing?" a voice asked.

I smiled, recognizing the owner of the voice. "As you can see, my dear Kari, he's eating his own tail," I interjected. Kari came and sat beside me, Shadow right beside her.

I quickly noticed Kari was not motivated to play with the other children. Strangely, she didn't even seem happy to see them. Sure, they were like a year older than her, but she liked playing with older kids. Perhaps she was not in a playful mood today, or at this moment.

Shadow moaned sadly as she watched Toothless pursuit his tail again in circles. From what I understood, Shadow wanted to play with Toothless. She looked back at Kari and pouted her mouth. Kari nudged her softly and the little Night Fury galloped toward the older Night Fury playfully. Toothless immediately dropped his tail and pursuit Shadow. The Night Furies growled at each other, then licked the other dragon's face.

Kari giggled as the dragons covered each other in their disgusting saliva. "Toothless sure loves Shadow."

"Yes, he does," I agreed. It was like a father-daughter relationship between them. Or brother-sister: I've yet to see Toothless act like a father. Well, except that time Kari ran away and he "scolded" Shadow, but I wouldn't count that.

"Daddy, why is Toothless' fin red?" Kari asked, abruptly.

I wasn't sure how to answer her question, primarily since she interjected the subject unexpectedly. Could I gloss over the prosthetic of his tail without going too much into Berk's history? I knew Kari was too young to know of our past war with the dragons, but she was inquisitive for her age.

"Well... his fin's red because that is Daddy and Toothless' racing colour," I simply stated.

Kari rolled her eyes. "But why is it not real?" she asked.

Dammit. "Well... do you know why Daddy has a leg that is not real?"

Kari nodded. "Because you were protecting everyone from the bad dragon." Being a child born after the war, Kari grew up exposed to the stories of how Toothless and I destroyed the Red Death, and our adventures with the other Dragon Riders, through the adults. Surprisingly enough, Kari seemed level-headed, even being told how she should show pride of her father. I'm actually glad she never showed signs of arrogance or pigheadedness.

"Yes, that's true." Here it goes. "Well, one day, Toothless got hurt badly and he lost his fin."

The red-head promptly gasped. "What happened? Did he fall and hurt himself? Was he trying to protect us, too?" she demanded.

"Well, he _did_ get hurt," I admitted. "But that was long before you were born."

There was silence from the seven-year old. I glanced back at her and noticed she was concentrating; I could tell from her eyes, which fixated on Toothless and Shadow. "Daddy, remember that dream you had about the bad man who hurt dragons?"

I shifted my jaw. "Yep."

"Why would someone want to hurt dragons?" she inquired.

"Well, a long time ago, dragons and vikings were not the best of friends," I explained. I couldn't say we actually _killed_ dragons.

"Really? Why?" Kari asked.

I flexed my hands awkwardly. "Well, Vikings thought dragons were always taking our food and sheep for themselves, and the dragons were scared of the Vikings. The dragons were following orders of their queen to steal food, and the Vikings never understood that."

"But the dragons were just following orders, right?" Kari clarified.

The thought of when I almost killed Toothless played in my mind like a spinning cart-wheel: A cart-wheel which never stopped, nor did it halter or break for a moment. The scared look in his eyes would never leave me alone. His irises were like black slits and pierced in fear at my soul. This moment, this look... did any of the other dragons look a frightened as Toothless did? And the amount of Vikings who just killed them anyway... never reconsidering that dragons were intelligent creatures who could easily become a great companion, after some training.

"Yea."

Silence again. "Daddy?"

"Yes, Kari?"

Kari took my hand. "But we ride dragons now, right?"

"Right..." I trailed off.

She raised her shoulders in questioning. "Well, what happened? What made the dragons and Vikings friends?" she asked.

"You know, with the Red Death."

Kari rolled her eyes. "Daddy, I mean_ how_..."

I thought for a moment. "Well... Toothless and I. We showed the Vikings and dragons that we could be friends."

"But did Vikings hurt dragons?" Kari wondered.

I nodded. _Some truths can not be hidden._ "Sadly, we did. We hurt each other." Kari merely nodded in acceptance.

I laughed, more to myself, causing Kari to stare ate me, strangely. "When I was a kid, I thought... hunting a dragon... would make me fit in."

"Fit in?" Kari repeated, confused.

"I was a loser," I admitted.

Kari laughed. "Daddy, you're not a loser. You're the _Chief_!"

Her innocence amused me, although it was adorable.

"And I thought hunting down a dragon would make my life better." I sighed and lowered my head. "But I couldn't do it."

"Why not, Daddy?" Kari asked.

I remember admitting this to Astrid not long after Dad and the rest of the island left to destroy the Dragon Nest. TNow, I was going to tell my daughter the very same thing: "Because... I saw the fear in the dragon's eyes... and I saw myself: a small, terrified creature."

Obviously, I couldn't tell Kari I shot down a dragon, let alone that it was Toothless. Her heart would have been crushed; I couldn't take away her innocence at such a young age.

Then again, she would have discovered it by now.

"So... you didn't hurt the dragon?" she asked.

"No."

Kari grinned. "I'm glad Toothless found you, Daddy. You and him saved the world."

I allowed her comment to digest in my thoughts. Yea, Toothless and I really _did_ save the world, didn't we? I liked how it sounded... like we were heroes. I guess I never thought of it like that; I was just doing what I thought was right.

I laughed. "Well, it certainly changed Berk for the better, didn't it, kiddo?" I asked, placing my arm around her shoulders. "I mean, who knows what would have happened if I didn't save Berk?"

Kari giggled. "Daddy, you're not letting this get to your head, are you?" she verified.

"No, of course not," I deadpanned, causing Kari to laugh.

"You're funny, Daddy." I liked she understood my witty comebacks.

One of the girls waved a hand over at us. "Kari, com play with us!"

"Yea, c'mon, Kari!" another boy shouted.

Kari faced her attention to me. "Is that okay, Dad?"

I moved my arm off her shoulders. "Go lead, fearless warrior!" I encouraged.

Kari grinned and pulled out a stick from beside the house. She went out and started playing with the other children. Toothless and Shadow joined with them and they played a sword game against each other, pretending the dragons were chasing them. I smiled at the sight of their innocence, watching past and future playing. These children were playing the very same game I would play as a child, when I was ever invited, except the biggest kid was the dragon, for the mere fun of it. My generation never played with dragons because we fantasized killing our own.

The children soon engaged Toothless into their little game as a villainous creature, with Kari shouting commands to the others. Even Shadow pretended to attack the children.

Although my daughter simply played with her friends, she already showed traits of a good leader. A warrior, even. She had a good head on her shoulders and thought the best for all. Even so, she has her flaws, like her stubbornness and her witty attitude (which I have no idea where she inherited that form...). Her leadership skills will prove vital when she becomes chief someday. I only hope she will never have to lead Ber to war.

These children... they will never see war, not as long as I was Chief. I do not want these children to have to fight against anyone and die in the process. I do not want them to witness the spill of either a dragon or viking's want the future generations of Berk to live in peace with the dragons, to fly free and happy for the rest of their days.

This is why I'm Chief: a Chief protects his own. I was meant to unite our worlds and rid our world of any war. I know from Drago that there are people out there who want war, but I'll be damn sure war will never see Berk.

Ever again.

**To be continued...**


	9. PLEASE READ!

**A/N**: Hi my faithful and fellow readers!

I'm sorry to point this out...

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... but this is not a new chapter.

**WAIT! DO NOT LEAVE YET! THIS IS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF "A FATHER'S LOVE"!**

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...

(shifts eyes)

Okay, hopefully I got your attention...

I usually try not to leave an author's note in replace of a chapter, but this is extremely important!

Now, in regards to "A Father's Love", I'm really happy with the feedback. However, it will be a while until I can make another update.

By while... I mean like in December, the least. :(

It's not that I don't like updating, it's just that I have a ton of crap to do. I mean, this is my future here (after almost five years of high school, I'm finally in nursing! :D) and I want to focus primarily on it. I'm sure many of you are on the same boat and/ or understand where I'm coming from, so thank you :)

And to be honest... I'm running dry on ideas. If you want to offer ideas, I'll be sure to mention you in the author's notes and dedicate the chapter to you :)

I love how supportive you guys are. Even if it's a simple review or just following the story, you guys motivate me to write. :)

So, on that note, I shall give you all a Christmas present with at least TWO chapters! Will that make up for four months? :)

Well, here's Bella Skywalker signing off! (Wait *squints eyes* why did I add so many smiley faces?)

See you at Christmas!

_Bella_


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